Former industry clients of David Bernhardt, the acting secretary of the Interior Department and a longtime fossil fuel lobbyist, have enjoyed what appears to be privileged access to high-ranking political appointees at the federal agency.

More than a dozen ex-clients have arranged at least 70 scheduled meetings with top Interior officials since President Donald Trump took office, according to data the corporate watchdog group Documented compiled . Oil and natural gas corporations that Bernhardt once represented accounted for the vast majority of those meetings, though the acting chief is barred from dealing with them directly due to ethics rules.

Under David Bernhardt, there seems to be few barriers between the oil, gas, and mining lobby, and the people regulating them, said Jesse Coleman, a senior investigator with Documented . As these records demonstrate, the public servants of the [Department of the Interior] are devoting their time to the private interests that used to pay Bernhardts salary.

Although not necessarily violations of federal ethics rules, the meetings are likely to serve as additional fodder for critics concerned that Bernhardt is maintaining close ties to special interests. Conservation groups have labeled the acting agency chief the ultimate D.C. swamp creature and a walking conflict of interest .

Bernhardt served on the Trump administrations transition team and was sworn in as Interiors deputy secretary in August 2017. President Donald Trump recently nominated Bernhardt to replace ousted agency chief Ryan Zinke, who resigned earlier this year under a cloud of ethics scandals. Prior to his current stint at Interior, Bernhardt worked for eight years at the law firm Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck , where he lobbied on behalf of oil, gas, mining and agricultural interests.

Bernhardt is scheduled to go before a Senate committee for a confirmation hearing Thursday, when he is expected to face tough questions about his personal conduct and ties to the industries hes now tasked with regulating. Ethics rules prohibit political appointees in the executive branch from participating in certain matters involving former employers or clients for two years.

Bernhardt has played a key behind-the-scenes role in many of the Trump administrations regulatory rollbacks and is among several Interior Department officials who have been accused of violating Trumps ethics pledge. Four conservation groups filed a lawsuit Wednesday against Bernhardt and the Bureau of Land Management over the agencys recent decision to weaken protections for the greater sage grouse, a ground-dwelling game bird. The rollback allows for increased economic development, in particular oil and gas production, in several Western states.