President-elect Joe Biden has nominated Congresswoman Deb Haaland from New Mexico as Secretary of the Interior.
“Haaland is a barrier-breaking public servant who has spent her career fighting for families, including in Tribal Nations, rural communities, and communities of color. Currently serving as Vice Chair of the House Committee on Natural Resources, Haaland will be ready on day one to protect our environment and fight for a clean energy future. If confirmed, she will make history as the first-ever Native American Cabinet secretary,” Biden wrote in an email announcement.
The congresswoman is a 35th-generation resident of New Mexico and a member of the Pueblo of Laguna. As Secretary of the Interior, she would lead an agency with tremendous influence over nearly 574 federally recognized tribes, the Bureau of Indian Education, the Bureau of Trust Funds Administration, and many of the nation’s public lands, waterways, wildlife, and mineral wealth through the National Parks Service, the Bureau of Land Management, Fish & Wildlife Service.
“We look forward to working with Interior Secretary nominee Deb Haaland to protect places like the Carrizo Plain National Monument, to reign in oil drilling on public lands, to create a better future for all communities, and to protect our air, water, and landscapes across the West,” said Jeff Kuyper, Executive Director of Los Padres ForestWatch.
The nomination will require the approval of the U.S. Senate early next year.
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