Biden chooses Deb Haaland as Native American first secretary of the interior | Biden administration

Joe Biden has selected U.S. lawmaker Deb Haaland as Home Secretary and will appoint North Carolina official Michael Regan to head the Environmental Protection Agency, in two diverse and influential choices to address the issues issues such as public land, pollution and the climate crisis.

Haaland, a progressive Democrat MP from New Mexico since 2019, is said to be the first Native American cabinet secretary and one of the first Native Americans to serve in a U.S. cabinet. The department’s jurisdiction covers tribal lands and large tracts of protected American wilderness, including such gems as Yellowstone and Yosemite National Parks.

In a tweet Thursday night, Haaland said she was “honored and ready to serve” as Home Secretary.

“A voice like mine has never been secretary of the cabinet or at the head of the interior ministry,” she added.

Haaland is a member of the Pueblo of Laguna and would become the first descendant of the original people to populate North America to lead the Department of the Interior, which has often had difficult relations with the 574 tribes federally recognized as United States, the Washington Post reported.

And she told Reuters news agency that she would seek to pave the way for an expansion of renewable energy production on federal lands to help fight climate change and reverse the regressive focus of Donald Trump on boosting fossil fuel production.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi issued a statement on Wednesday saying: “Congresswoman Haaland knows the territory, and if she is the choice of the president-elect for the post of Home Secretary, then he will have made a excellent choice.”

New Mexico Senator Tom Udall nonetheless called Haaland a “momentous and well-deserved” nomination and called her an exceptional leader.

“She will repair the damage caused by the Trump administration, restore the department’s workforce and expertise, meet our obligations to Indigenous communities, and take the bold steps necessary to address accelerating climate crises and natural, ”Udall said.

Theresa Pierno, president and CEO of the National Parks Conservation Association, said Haaland would be ready for the job “from day one” and was a congressional “champion” who had helped keep the line on conservation.

“In the midst of a global pandemic and climate crisis, we need a Home Secretary’s Department ready to meet the challenges of the 21st century with bold solutions… to protect our national parks and public lands for the benefit of all Americans, ”she said.

Meanwhile, Biden plans to appoint Regan, North Carolina’s main environmental regulator, to head the EPA, according to Reuters.

If confirmed by the US Senate, Regan would become the second black person to lead the EPA, after Lisa Jackson, who served during Barack Obama’s presidency. He is said to be a key member of Biden’s new expanded team, which is focused on reversing Trump’s environmental setbacks and the climate crisis with a plan to reduce the US economy to net zero greenhouse gas emissions. greenhouse by 2050.

Regan brings years of experience in the fossil fuel industries to his home state, including overseeing a roughly $ 9 billion settlement deal with utility Duke Energy for the biggest cleanup. coal ash from the country. Regan also worked at the EPA and worked on climate change and pollution initiatives for the Environmental Defense Fund, an environmental advocacy group.

“Regan understands that tough environmental goals, tempered by economic and technological reality, produce the best approach on everything from climate change to more local issues,” said Scott Segal, attorney for the Bracewell law firm, who is one of his customers of oil companies.

Jim Marston, former head of the Environmental Defense Fund’s state initiatives program, said: “He could talk and work with industry. And his own personal history allows him to really relate… to the working class people who are the workers in the factories that need to be regulated, ”Marston said.

Democrats have a very narrow majority in the House, so losing Haaland to the cabinet is a risk, leaving three House Democratic MPs to leave the chamber to join the new administration.

Marcia Fudge will be appointed to lead the housing and urban development department, and Cedric Richmond will be the director of the White House’s Office of Public Engagement.