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President-elect Joe Biden has picked New Mexico Democrat Rep. Deb Haaland as secretary of Interior, sources confirmed for Fox News Thursday, making her the first Native American to fill the position that oversees U.S. natural resources and tribal lands.
The historic pick was applauded by progressives like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., who said Haaland would work to strengthen environmentally forward policies like the Green New Deal.
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"This is a big deal," Ocasio-Cortez wrote on Twitter Thursday afternoon. "Historic appointment. A visionary Native woman in charge of federal lands. Unequivocally progressive. Green New Deal champion. Exquisitely experienced."
The pick of 60-year-old Haaland signifies a shift in how the Department of Interior will function under the Biden administration, focusing not only on environmental policies but how communities in the United States are tied to federal land protections.
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But conservatives are saying not so fast to the anti-fracking Demcrat, signaling potential trouble for Haaland's confirmation.
"It’s hard to see a bright spot for our state because of her extreme position on energy," the Republican Party of New Mexico said in a statement following the announcement. "Biden’s pick confirms that he plans to systematically take apart our important oil and gas industry."
Native American communities have a historied past, not only in their struggle for representation in U.S. policies, but with how environmental policies have effected their communities – a topic Haaland was critical of during the Trump administration, particularly when it came to her oil-rich state, New Mexico.
Several tribal nations rejected President Trump’s removal of the U.S. from the Paris Climate Agreement in 2017 and vowed to uphold the agreement in their own sovereign nations. Another five tribal communities asked the United Nations to step in and investigate the U.S. government for possible human rights abuses regarding climate-related abuses, reported High Country News in April.
If confirmed, Haaland will likely play a crucial role in fulfilling Biden’s pledge to prevent any "new oil and gas permitting on public lands and waters," as a part of the president-elect’s monumental plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and address climate change.
But New Mexico conservatives think this could spell trouble for an industry they are trying to hold on to.
"Oil and gas is New Mexico’s bread and butter, providing billions in revenue, more than 40% of our state’s budget and more than 100,000 jobs," Republican Party of New Mexico Chairman Steve Pearce said Thursday. "This doesn’t bode well for the energy industry as a whole."
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Haaland is Biden’s latest pick in an environmentally-forward cabinet, after sources confirmed his intent to nominate North Carolina environmental regulator Michael Regan to head the EPA Thursday.
Former Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm is expected to be nominated to lead the Energy Department along with former Obama EPA chief Gina McCarthy, as czar of Biden’s new White House climate change office.
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