What’s Happening
President Biden’s nominee for Secretary of the Interior, Rep. Deb Haaland, faces a difficult road to confirmation. At a confirmation hearing on Tuesday, Senate Republicans pushed Haaland on her positions on the Keystone XL Pipeline and oil and gas leasing on public lands as well as divisive comments about Republicans. Haaland, who has represented New Mexico’s 1st district in Congress since 2019 and formerly served as chair of the New Mexico Democratic Party, would be the first Native American and first woman to lead the agency.
Why It Matters
The Department of the Interior manages roughly one-fifth of the land in the U.S., including the National Park System, runs the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and oversees fish and wildlife conservation. If confirmed, Haaland will shape the United States’ environmental agenda broadly, as well as several specific areas of climate policy, including leasing for oil, gas, and mineral extraction on public lands and waters.
As a member of Congress, Rep. Haaland co-sponsored the Green New Deal, fought against the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines, and supported a moratorium on fracking and drilling on public lands. In Tuesday’s hearing, Haaland struck a more conciliatory note, choosing to be introduced by Alaska Republican Don Young, who supports her nomination, and emphasizing that as Interior Secretary, she would carry out President Biden’s policy agenda, not her own.
My Take
Haaland’s confirmation would be historic. In the 19th and early 20th century, the agency she has been tapped to lead played a significant role in carrying out the federal government’s egregious policies of American Indian removal and forced assimilation. Whether Haaland would successfully lead DOI in addressing climate change and other environmental issues is a different matter. Haaland’s past support for policies like the Green New Deal, which would hurt Americans and yield little in terms of climate benefits, is not an encouraging sign. While she has received praise from the progressive environmental community, her positions on issues like fracking are, in fact, at odds with science.
Rather than defending her record, Haaland’s supporters have turned to implying that Republican criticism comes from racist and sexist attitudes. Yet, Republicans speak for the many Americans who have historically been victimized by one-size-fits-all environmental policies. If she is confirmed, Haaland will succeed only if she moderates her past positions and focuses on collaborative policies that build trust with rural and working class Americans.
Quote Me on It
“There’s no question that Rep. Haaland’s confirmation as Secretary of the Interior would be historic. The real question is whether she would represent radical activists or all Americans at the helm of the agency that shapes everything from public lands to energy policy.” – VP of Government Affairs Quill Robinson