David L. Bernhardt is the only person ever to be confirmed by the U.S. Senate to serve as Solicitor, Deputy Secretary, and then Secretary of the Department of the Interior, managing nearly 70,000 employees and a budget that exceeds $16 billion. He previously served for nearly eight years as a political appointee in the George W. Bush administration at Interior and as the U.S. commissioner for the International Boundary Commission, U.S. and Canada. Bernhardt grew up in the rural western Colorado community of Rifle and is an avid hunter and angler. He is married to Gena Bernhardt, and they have a son, William, and a daughter, Katherine. He resides in Arlington, Virginia, with his wife and daughter.