'The best people': Probe opened on Trump's latest cabinet official days after confirmation

Only the best people, folks. Four days after being confirmed by the Senate, Interior Department Secretary David Bernhardt found himself under an ethics investigationlaunched Monday by the agency's internal watchdog.

The inquiry by Interior’s inspector general (IG) is the result of multiple requests from lawmakers and conservation groups urging the IG to explore Bernhnardt's conflicts of interest. While working as a deputy for Ryan Zinke, the recently departed Interior secretary who resigned in scandal, Bernhardt, a former oil and gas lobbyist, reportedly played a "pivotal role" in adopting policies at the department that benefitted his former clients. In fact, Bernhardt has so many potential conflicts that his staff members prepare "a daily card" alerting him about which parties to steer clear of ethics violations.

Bernhardt helped roll back regulations that opened up large swaths of public lands to more drilling and weakened safety standards for ocean drilling. He also played a role in kneecapping protections for endangered species. Taken together, many Democrats had opposed moving forward with his nomination.

“We now have an Interior Secretary who has been on the job for one full business day and is already under investigation,” Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden tweeted Monday. “This is exactly why I wanted a delay in Bernhardt’s consideration.”

Overall, Donald Trump is really shredding some records on turnover for top administration posts. Around 10 of his cabinet secretaries have either resigned in scandal or been forced out by Trump. According to the Brookings Institution, Trump now holds the record for White House staff turnover, cabinet turnover, and with the departure of Homeland Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, highest turnover in a single department. Now Trump may also hold the record for speed with which an inquiry is opened into a cabinet appointee. Simply the best.