A private hospitality guru who has a lucrative contract providing services to national park visitors got an invite five years ago from U.S. Sen Angus King.
The Maine “independent” senator and former two-term governor brought Scott Socha, who President Trump has nominated to head the national parks, before his Senate subcommittee on parks in 2021.
Socha is president of the parks and resorts and Australia branches of Delaware North, a concessionaire in national parks.
He’s under fire from park “conservation” groups that claim he’s going to benefit financially from his new post.
Socha, whose appointment requires Senate confirmation, came before the Subcommittee On National Parks five years ago as King touted the benefits of government-promoted open spaces.
Invitations to witnesses to appear before congressional committees are no accident. They are well-vetted and rehearsed.
Socha got the Angus invite in his role as chairman of the National Park Hospitality Association.
The private contractor’s appearance with King to trumpet the benefits of visiting parks helped boost the former’s resume – as well as the latter’s.
Now the question is whether King will side with the liberal groups that are up in arms over Socha’s nomination.
If he lobbies against Socha he will be scuttling the very same guy he brought in as a cheerleading government witness.
During the same hearing, Angus got to tell his favorite story about putting his family in an RV to criss-cross the country visiting the national parks.
King even wrote and heavily promoted a $15.98 book about the five-month 2003 trip, which to his favor turned the multi-millionaire into an average Walmart lot RV dweller.
