During his early career, James G. Watt served as a deputy with oversight for water and power resources for former US President Richard M. Nixon’s Interior Secretary and later, in 1975, was named to the Federal Power Commission by President Gerald R. Ford. He later became a proponent of the “Sagebrush Rebellion,” a movement that aimed for regional control of public resources in the Western part of the country.
In 1977, Watt became the president and chief counsel of the Mountain States Legal Foundation, which was created to protect property rights by the Colorado brewer Joseph Coors. He filed multiple lawsuits to contest environmental protection policies that were put forward by the Interior Department.
Watt was well-aware that his nomination for Interior Secretary would be met with opposition, due to his prior anti-environment stances and strong pro-development stance. Nevertheless, he was confirmed by the Senate with ease after arguing that controlled resource development would fortify the country in case of an energy emergency.
After leaving his government role, Watt became a lobbyist for builders seeking contracts from the Department of Housing and Urban Development from 1984 to 1986. Although he faced charges of perjury and obstructing justice by a federal grand jury investigating fraud and influence-peddling during his lobbying stint at HUD, the charges were eventually dropped. He pleaded guilty to a single misdemeanor and was fined $5,000 and sentenced to 500 hours of community service.
In his later years, Watt co-wrote a book with Doug Weed titled “The Courage of a Conservative” that discussed conservative political agendas. He later expressed support for the proposal made by Vice President Dick Cheney in 2001 to drill for oil on public lands, stating that it was similar to ideas he had advocated for two decades earlier.
Reporting by Eduardo Medina was used in this article.
