President-elect Joe Biden has picked Democratic Rep. Deb Haaland of New Mexico, a liberal favorite, to lead the Interior Department, the agency charged with overseeing the nation’s vast public lands.
Biden confirmed his choice of Haaland as a member of his “climate team” Thursday night, saying she would “be ready on day one to protect our environment and fight for a clean energy future.”
Haaland, 60, would be the first Native American to lead a Cabinet agency. Biden chose Haaland, a member of the Pueblo of Laguna, over retiring Sen. Tom Udall, also of New Mexico. Biden and Udall are longtime friends, and the senator’s father, Stewart, led the Interior Department in the 1960s.
But environmentalists preferred Haaland, who is the vice chairwoman of the House Natural Resources Committee, which supervises the Interior Department.
She was just elected to her second term in the House. Democrats are worried about shrinking their slim House majority by losing Haaland. But Speaker Nancy Pelosi gave her blessing, helping seal the deal for Haaland.
The Interior Department manages public lands that stretch across nearly 20% of the United States while also working directly with the nation’s 578 federally recognized Native American tribes.
Biden’s interior secretary will likely be asked to implement one of his most aggressive campaign promises, banning new oil and gas drilling on federal lands and waters, which the administration can do without Congress.
That would be a key plank of his agenda to tackle climate change, as nearly one-quarter of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions come from energy production on public lands and waters, the U.S. Geological Survey found in 2018.
New Mexico, Haaland’s home state and a top fossil fuel producer, would be among the most affected because much of its oil production occurs on federal land. Haaland has said she would prioritize the development of clean energy on public lands over fossil fuels.
The Trump administration focused on opening more public lands to oil and gas drilling.
