President-elect Joe Biden plans to nominate Rep. Deb Haaland, a Democrat from New Mexico, to be interior secretary, The Washington Post reports. Haaland would be the first Native American to head the department, which oversees U.S. tribal lands as well as the country’s natural resources. Prior to joining the House in 2019, Haaland had her own small business and put herself through law school at the University of New Mexico while raising her daughter. She’s also a member of the Pueblo of Laguna.
Haaland, the third member of Congress tapped by Biden to fill cabinet positions, served as vice chair of the House Natural Resources Committee. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was a vocal supporter of Haaland’s nomination, as were various environmental groups. “Haaland knows the territory, and if she is the President-elect’s choice for Interior Secretary, then he will have made an excellent choice,” Pelosi said in a statement earlier this week.
Read it at The Washington Post
