Hanford Grower Aubrey Bettencourt Is Trump’s Pick as Reclamation Leader

Aubrey Bettencourt, a third-generation Hanford farmer who has climbed the nation’s political ranks, is President Donald Trump’s choice to lead the Bureau of Reclamation, according to published reports.

After Bettencourt’s selection is announced by the White House, she must be confirmed by Congress to officially assume the role of Reclamation commissioner. Scott J. Cameron is the agency’s acting commissioner.

Bettencourt will face many challenging issues, not the least of which is the contentious interstate fight over the Colorado River. Seven states depend on the river for water: Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming.

Will Bettencourt Ease Trump’s Western Water Headaches?

The Las Vegas-Review Journal reported Bettencourt’s pending appointment on Monday, citing a Trump administration official.

Politico also reported Bettencourt as Trump’s pick, relying on confirmation by a White House official.

“It’s a move that sidesteps the seven-state brawl over the drought-withered Colorado River that has given the Trump administration a litany of political headaches and led to the withdrawal of the administration’s first nominee for Reclamation, a long-time Arizona water hand who had drawn opposition from powerful Republican officials in Utah and Wyoming,” Politico reported.

“Bettencourt instead hails from the world of California water fights, which have long captured the president’s imagination. … ”

The withdrawn nominee was Ted Cooke.

Bettencourt Long Rumored for Top Trump Assignment

Speculation about Bettencourt landing a top role in the second Trump administration immediately followed his 2024 election victory. During the first Trump administration from 2017 to 2021, she was deputy assistant secretary of water and science at Interior.

Until last month, Bettencourt served as chief of the Natural Resources Conservation Service, a private lands conservation agency in the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Before taking that position, she was global director of government relations and external affairs at Netafim, a global drip irrigation technology company with a Fresno office.

Bettencourt is a past president and CEO of the Almond Alliance of California.

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