Vitter: I 'won't miss' Salazar at Interior

Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) said Wednesday that he “won’t miss” outgoing Interior Department Secretary Ken Salazar.

“I wish Ken Salazar, a Senate classmate, all the best,” Vitter said in a statement Wednesday. “But I honestly won't miss him as Interior secretary.”

Vitter has been critical of Salazar and the Interior Department for the drilling moratorium in the Gulf of Mexico after the BP oil spill, which happened in April 2010.

“He supported the drilling moratorium overreaction to the BP disaster that cost us so many jobs,” Vitter said. “And he consistently made energy production on federal land and water far more difficult and costly, pushing federal lease revenue from $10 billion to $0 from 2008 to 2011.”

Vitter has advocated increasing drilling permits for the country and particularly his home state, which relies on oil drilling to support the Louisiana economy.

Salazar announced earlier this week that he would step down as secretary of the Interior Department in March.

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