The Senate voted on Thursday to advance the nomination of Deb Haaland to be secretary of the Interior Department, with four Republicans crossing over to clear a key procedural hurdle before a final vote next week.
Republican Sens. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Dan Sullivan of Alaska, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, and Susan Collins of Maine joined all Democrats in a 54-42 vote to end debate on Haaland’s nomination. Murkowski and Collins had previously announced their support for Haaland.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said the upper chamber will vote to confirm Haaland on Monday despite Republican attempts at holding her up.
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Earlier this week, GOP Sens. Steve Daines of Montana and Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming announced they had put a hold on Haaland’s nomination because of her prior statements opposing the development of pipelines and fossil fuels, dragging out the final vote.
Democratic Sen. Martin Heinrich of New Mexico and other colleagues on Thursday slammed Republicans for treating Haaland “unfairly” compared to President Biden’s other energy and environment nominees who did not receive the same level of GOP opposition.
Haaland, who would be the first Native American Cabinet secretary, is an original sponsor of the Green New Deal and had a liberal voting record as a House member representing New Mexico.
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But Haaland sought to moderate her positions to appease Republicans and centrist Democrats, vowing during the confirmation process that fossil fuels will continue to play a role in the country’s energy mix despite her devotion to implementing Biden’s agenda to reduce reliance on oil and gas.
