Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez and members of the Navajo Nation Council are congratulating New Mexico Democratic Rep. Deb Haaland for her selection as the next U.S. Secretary of the Interior.
President-elect Joe Biden’s transition team says it intends to nominate Haaland after he’s sworn in as president next month.
“It is truly a historic and unprecedented day for all Indigenous people as Congresswoman Deb Haaland has been selected to head one of the largest federal agencies, which oversees the BIA and BIE, at the highest level of the federal government. I congratulate her and I also thank the Biden-Harris team for making a statement and keeping their word to place Native Americans in high-level cabinet positions," says President Nez.
Haaland would be the first Native American ever to lead the Interior Department, which oversees the Bureau of Indian Affairs and Education as well as the Park Service and other agencies.
Haaland is an advocate for tribal nations, social justice, economic development and clean energy. The U.S. Senate will first have to approve her nomination.
