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News Desk: US President-elect Joe Biden unveiled his environment team Thursday, choosing congresswoman Deb Haaland to serve as the first Native American interior secretary and Jennifer Granholm, a former Michigan governor, as energy secretary.<\/p>\n
He also nominated Michael Regan, a North Carolina environmental regulator who is Black and brokered the nation's largest coal ash cleanup, to be administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.<\/p>\n
The choices fit with Biden's much-publicized pledge to form the most diverse White House cabinet in history.<\/p>\n
“This brilliant, tested, trailblazing team will be ready on day one to confront the existential threat of climate change with a unified national response rooted in science and equity,” Biden said in a statement.<\/p>\n
Haaland is a first-term Democratic congresswoman from New Mexico and a member of the Laguna Pueblo people. If confirmed by the Senate, she would become the first Native American to lead a cabinet-level department.<\/p>\n
The Interior Department is a vast agency of more than 70,000 employees overseeing the country's natural resources, including national parks, and oil and gas drilling sites, as well as tribal lands — home to 578 federally recognized tribes.<\/p>\n
In Congress, Haaland has prioritized the improvement of services to tribal communities, especially assistance during the coronavirus pandemic, which has disproportionately hurt Native American families.<\/p>\n
“It would be an honor to move the Biden-Harris climate agenda forward, help repair the government-to-government relationship with tribes that the Trump Administration has ruined, and serve as the first Native American cabinet secretary in our nation's history,” Haaland said ahead of her official nomination.<\/p>\n
– ‘Historic day' \u2013<\/p>\n
Regan served at the EPA in the administrations of Bill Clinton and George W. Bush.<\/p>\n
He would be the first Black man to lead the agency, tasked with helping to carry out Biden's ambitious climate plans, which call for embracing clean energy and crafting higher fuel-efficiency standards for the country's automobiles and trucks.<\/p>\n
Energy secretary nominee Granholm has spoken often about the need to radically rethink energy policy in light of climate change.<\/p>\n
An outspoken champion of Biden during the presidential campaign, Granholm has sketched out a national “race to the top” in which states could compete for clean energy funds.<\/p>\n
Biden's pick of Haaland is seen as a tough political call because he would be removing a Democrat from the House of Representatives at a time when the party's majority there is hanging by a thread.<\/p>\n
But a public campaign supporting Haaland's nomination gained steam, and dozens of tribal leaders called on Biden to choose her.<\/p>\n
The nomination marked “a historic and unprecedented day for all Indigenous people,” said Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez.<\/p>\n
Haaland's pick “sends a clear message” that Biden “is committed to addressing the wrongs of the past and clearing a path for real change and opportunity for tribal nations.”<\/p>\n
Haaland won re-election easily in November, and while the seat has been in Democratic hands since 2009, it is unclear whether another Democrat would win it.<\/p>\n
During Donald Trump's presidency, the interior department earned scorn from Native American groups.<\/p>\n
His administration expedited projects like the controversial Dakota Access pipeline, which has been vehemently opposed by Native American groups including the Standing Rock Sioux.<\/p>\n
Haaland jabbed Trump on Thursday before news broke of her nomination.<\/p>\n
“Trump failed Indian Country & only broke more promises,” she tweeted. “It was exacerbated by the Administration's failure to take this #pandemic seriously. Looking forward to turning the page on this dark chapter.”<\/p>\n
Biden has now picked most of his cabinet, including Antony Blinken for secretary of state, and Janet Yellen to head the Treasury.<\/p>\n
The most senior post that remains open is that of US attorney general.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
News Desk: US President-elect Joe Biden unveiled his environment team Thursday, choosing congresswoman Deb Haaland to serve as the first Native American interior secretary and Jennifer Granholm, a former Michigan governor, as energy secretary. He also nominated Michael Regan, a North Carolina environmental regulator who is Black and brokered the nation’s largest coal ash cleanup, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":64881,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[2,5],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\t\n