HOUSTON — The Department of the Interior has decided to halt its sponsorship of all House trips to various agency sites around the country until a resolution can be found to a dispute over the rules of engagement between congressional staff and the career and political officials who facilitate the oversight visits, according to a senior department official.
The Interior Department oversees the Bureau of Land Management, the National Park Service, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and several other agencies.
The decision, which had not officially been rendered to Capitol Hill as of early Wednesday evening, was driven by Interior Department chief of staff Todd Willens, according to the official, who spoke to NBC News on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of internal deliberations.
View the complete September 11 article by Jonathan Allen on the NBC News website here.