David J. Hayes

Who is David J. Hayes?

David J. Hayes is a Distinguished Visiting Lecturer at Law at Stanford Law School and a Senior Fellow at the Hewlett Foundation. From 2009 to July 2013, he was the Deputy Secretary and Chief Operating Officer of the Department of the Interior in the Obama administration. His nomination was confirmed by unanimous consent on May 20, 2009 by the United States Senate and he took office on May 22, 2009. Hayes’ confirmation was delayed, and subject to a cloture vote, based on then-Senator Bob Bennett’s objections to Secretary Salazar’s cancellation of an oil and gas lease sale in Utah. During his tenure as Deputy Secretary, Hayes facilitated the development of major renewable energy projects by helping to institute permitting reforms and introducing landscape-scale planning for solar projects on public lands and wind projects in offshore waters.