President-elect Biden has made two more cabinet picks including that of New Mexico Democratic Congresswoman Deb Haaland to be his interior secretary, a move that had been reportedly opposed by House Speaker Pelosi because it means the loss of one more Democrat in the House. Her selection brought immediate criticism from the oil and gas industry.
Biden also reportedly chosen North Carolina environmental agency director Michael S. Regan to lead the Environmental Protection Agency.
Biden’s reported selection of Rep. Haaland will make her the first Native American to lead the Interior Department which has obvious influence over Oklahoma’s Native American tribes.
New Mexico tribal leaders had urged Biden to pick Haaland despite concerns that her selection will also risk the Democrats’ majority in the House. The 60-year old Congresswoman is a Laguna Pueblo member and former San Felipe Pueblo tribal administrator.
Reports of her selection brought excited support from Native American leaders in New Mexico.
Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez called it a “historic and unprecedented day” for all indigenous people, pointing out the Interior Department oversees the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Bureau of Indian Education reported the Albuquerque Journal.
But the newspaper said oil and gas industry supporters were critical of the selection saying her nomination would “ruin our nation’s energy sector.”
“Deb Haaland would be the most radical left Interior Secretary in the history of our country as proven by the fact she has stood against New Mexico’s energy workers every day of her public life,” Larry Behrens, the western states director for Power the Future, said in a statement. “Joe Biden told Americans he didn’t support the Green New Deal or a full ban on fracking, yet Deb Haaland proudly embraces both extreme positions.”
As for Regan’s reported selection, he is not a widely-known state regulator and his name surfaced in recent days. Earlier, California clean-air regulator Mary Nichols had been in serious contention but she apparently fell in standing based on growing objections of progressive groups who were critical of her not doing enough to address the reported harm suffered by low-income communities near oil and gas operations.
Click here for Albuquerque Journal story.