With historic picks, Biden puts environmental justice front and center Juliet Eilperin, Dino Grandoni, Brady Dennis President-elect Joe Biden chose Rep. Deb Haaland (D-N.M.) Thursday to serve as the first Native American Cabinet secretary and head the Interior Department, a historic pick that marks a turning point for the U.S. government’s relationship with the nation’s Indigenous peoples. With that selection and others this week, Biden sent a clear message that top officials charged with confronting the nation’s environmental problems will have a shared experience with the Americans who have disproportionately been affected by toxic air and polluted land.
Biden picks New Mexico Rep. Deb Haaland to be first Native American interior secretary
Her appointment would mark a turning point for a 171-year-old institution that has often had a fraught relationship with 574 federally recognized tribes.
By Juliet Eilperin and Dino GrandoniWashington Post
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Rep. Deb Haaland, D-N.M., has been nominated to become the first Native American to serve as interior secretary. Washington Post photo by Bonnie Jo Mount
President-elect Joe Biden has tapped Democratic Rep. Deb Haaland, a congresswoman from New Mexico, to serve as the first Native American interior secretary in a historic pick for a department that oversees the country’s vast natural resources, including tribal lands.
By JULIET EILPERIN AND DINO GRANDONI | The Washington Post | Published: December 17, 2020 WASHINGTON President-elect Joe Biden chose Rep. Deb Haaland, D-N.M., Thursday to serve as the first Native American Cabinet secretary and head the Interior Department, a historic pick that marks a turning point for the U.S. government s relationship with the nation s Indigenous peoples. With that selection and others this week, Biden sent a clear message that top officials charged with confronting the nation s environmental problems will have a shared experience with the Americans who have disproportionately been affected by toxic air and polluted land. A voice like mine has never been a Cabinet secretary or at the head of the Department of Interior, Haaland tweeted Thursday night. . I ll be fierce for all of us, our planet, and all of our protected land.
The Energy 202: The campaign heats up for Biden to pick a Native American for his Cabinet Dino Grandoni
with Alexandra Ellerbeck Calls for Joe Biden to pick a Native American to run the Department of the Interior are growing louder in the days before the president-elect is expected to announce his environmental team. An increasing number of liberal members of Congress, climate activists, Hollywood celebrities and tribal groups are coalescing in support of Rep. Deb Haaland (D-N.M.), an enrolled member of the Pueblo of Laguna, to become the first descendant of North America’s original people to be the next interior secretary. Another person being considered for the position, former deputy secretary Michael L. Connor, is also an enrolled member of New Mexico’s Taos Pueblo.