Deb Haaland as she is sworn is as U.S. secretary of the interior on Thursday, March 18, 2021. (Shawn Thew/EPA/Bloomberg via Getty Images) Deb Haaland became the Secretary of the Interior after a confirmation vote of 51-40 in early March, picking up votes from every Democrat in attendance and Republican Sens. Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), Dan Sullivan (Alaska), Susan Collins (Maine) and Lindsey Graham (S.C.). Haaland, a former member of Congress for New Mexico and a member of the Laguna Pueblo tribe, is now the first Native American to helm the Department of the Interior, which encompasses the Bureau of Indian Affairs and is responsible for the conservation of federal lands across the country.