Huffman, Dexter Call for Inspector General Investigation into Interior Official's Potential Ethics Violations, Family Favoritism

Washington, D.C. – Today, Ranking Member Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) and Ranking Member of the Oversight & Investigations Subcommittee Maxine Dexter (D-Ore.) sent a letter to Acting Interior Inspector General Caryl Brzymialkiewicz requesting an investigation into whether Dr. Jenifer Chatfield, the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks, violated federal ethics rules or federal law by participating in matters directly benefiting her family's captive wildlife business.

Dr. Chatfield was quietly appointed to DOI on May 12, 2025, and later promoted to a position overseeing both the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Park Service. DOI did not publicly announce either appointment.

“Rather than making decisions as a high-ranking official in the interest of the American people, she appears to be involving herself in decisions that would directly benefit her family business and those of her allies. Many of those decisions would normally be made by agency experts far below her in the organizational chart. DOI has either refused to release her ethics guidance or has not provided her with any, despite multiple potential conflicts of interest,” the lawmakers wrote.

“These actions are especially grave [...] amid the Trump administration’s permissive approach to potential conflicts of interest,” they said, noting how “Dr. Chatfield’s potential ethical lapses undermine public confidence that federal regulators are acting in the public interest without bias for those in their personal lives.”

According to evidence compiled by Committee Democrats:

In the letter, the lawmakers write that Dr. Chatfield “appears to be involving herself in decisions that would directly benefit her family business and those of her allies” and that many of those decisions “would normally be made by agency experts far below her in the organization chart.”

Dr. Chatfield's family owns 4J Conservation Center, a USDA-licensed captive breeding facility in Dade City, Florida, operated by her father, mother, and twin brother. The facility has been cited for unsafe and unsanitary conditions. Dr. Chatfield's father has a history of engaging in exotic wildlife trade, including sales to game ranches that facilitate canned hunts, and is a founding member of the Zoological Association of America.

Dr. Chatfield's financial disclosure contains inconsistencies. She signed her disclosure on May 30, 2025, stating she left 4J Conservation Center in December 2023. Records from the Florida Division of Corporations and the company's own annual report contradict that claim. Her father, mother, and twin brother remain as officers of 4J. Dr. Chatfield also did not declare any financial interest in 4J Conservation Center on her disclosure, though her listed veterinary consulting income may have come in part from work associated with the facility.

On September 9, 2025, the Fish and Wildlife Service posted a receipt of permit application from 4J Conservation Center seeking a captive-bred wildlife registration for endangered black-and-white ruffed lemur and red-ruffed lemur species. The application lists Dr. Chatfield as the facility's veterinarian and includes her curriculum vitae with 20 years of experience caring for those species. Correspondence associated with the application continued through June 2025, after Dr. Chatfield had started at DOI. No amendments to the application were filed to reflect her departure from 4J Conservation Center.

The available record provides no indication that Dr. Chatfield recused herself from policy areas or particular matters in which she has covered relationships. DOI's response to two Committee records requests included only her financial disclosure report and no additional ethics documentation, suggesting the DOI Office of Ethics did not conduct a thorough review when she entered government. As with her disclosures about 4J, Dr. Chatfield’s disclosures of at least one other potential financial conflicts of interest are inconsistent with publicly available records.

The letter requests the Inspector General investigate whether Dr. Chatfield's actions represent violations of 5 C.F.R. Section 2635, the Standards of Ethical Conduct for Employees of the Executive Branch, and 18 U.S.C. Section 208, which carries criminal penalties for executive branch employees who participate in government matters affecting their own financial interests.

The letter contains extensive redactions due to the sensitive nature of the remainder of the allegations.

Read the full letter HERE.

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