{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.wyden.senate.gov/news/press-releases/wyden-klobuchar-heinrich-demand-answers-from-trump-official-that-diverted-federal-firefighting-resources-to-private-ranch", "Wyden, Klobuchar, Heinrich Demand Answers from Trump Official that Diverted Federal Firefighting Resources to Private Ranch", "2026-08-28", "2026", "2026-08", "Democrat", "Senate", "OR", "Ron Wyden", "W000779", "www.wyden.senate.gov", "wyden", "https://www.wyden.senate.gov/news/press-releases", "scraper", "Amid record wildfire season in Western U.S., top Trump official at USDA diverted scarce firefighting resources to a 7 acre fire near his private ranch in Idaho\n\nWashington, D.C. \u2014 U.S. Senators Ron Wyden, D-Ore., Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Finance, Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, and Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, today demanded answers from the Trump administration following reports that U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Undersecretary of Agriculture for Natural Resources and Environment, Michael Boren, diverted federal firefighting resources away from active wildfires, in order to fight a seven acre fire near his personal ranch in Idaho.\n\n\u201cMr. Boren\u2019s actions constitute potentially a misuse of taxpayer funds and put American families at further risk by diverting scarce resources from high-priority wildfires threatening communities elsewhere in the region and country,\u201d the Senators wrote in their letter to USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins. \u201cWe request a full investigation into the nature and extent of Boren\u2019s involvement in response to the Cabin Creek Fire and a detailed accounting of the safeguards the agency has implemented or plans to implement to prevent political interference and conflicts of interest in wildfire response.\u201d\n\nEarlier this month, it was reported that Mr. Boren used his position to pressure U.S. Forest Service personnel to divert already scarce firefighting resources away from other fires to suppress a small fire near his 480-acre ranch in the Sawtooth National Forest.\n\nNine aircraft were reportedly assigned to the fire, an extremely high number for a fire of this size. Western states are already facing a shortage of firefighting personnel and resources as a direct result of the Trump administration\u2019s staffing and funding cuts. During this record setting fire season, fires of much larger size threatening American lives and homes have not received even a fraction of the same commitment of resources.\n\nIn their letter, the senators requested details on how the Department would prevent similar interference by administration officials for personal gain in the future, and requested the findings of a Department investigation of the incident be provided to the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, and the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.\n\nThe full letter is here.\n\n###", 1, "2026-08-28T17:11:49Z", "2026-08-28T17:13:14Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.wyden.senate.gov/news/press-releases/wyden-klobuchar-heinrich-demand-answers-from-trump-official-that-diverted-federal-firefighting-resources-to-private-ranch"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.6088387928903103, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}