A leaked recording from a 2017 meeting of the Independent Petroleum Association of America shows oil industry executives "almost giddy" about their access to the Trump administration as they sought to roll back environmental regulations, according to a recent report by The Center for Investigative Reporting.

The executives were discussing the appointment of lawyer David Bernhardt to the No. 2 position in the Department of Interior. Bernhardt is now acting secretary of the interior and is Trump's nominee for the job following the resignation of Ryan Zinke last year. As an attorney, he had previously led IPAA's challenge of endangered species rules.

"We know him very well, and we have direct access to him, have conversations with him about issues ranging from federal land access to endangered species, to a lot of issues," Dan Naatz, IPAA's senior vice president of government relations and political affairs, said in the recording.

The Center for Investigative Reporting did not say how it obtained the recording. Its release came only a few days before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee was scheduled to hold a confirmation hearing on Bernhardt's nomination, set for Thursday. The recording also features IPAA CEO Barry Russell speaking about his meetings with former Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt.

IPAA executives were not available for comment on the story, the center reported. http://bit.ly/2YvAy9c

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