Haaland was approved by 51 votes for and 40 against in the Senate and thus gets to lead the powerful ministry with responsibility for federal lands, national parks and indigenous peoples.
She was elected to the New Mexico Congress just over two years ago.
– Haaland’s approval is a gigantic step forward towards a government that represents the entire rich diversity this country has, said Chuck Schumer, who leads the Democrats in the Senate.
He added that the indigenous people have been overlooked for far too long in appointments to senior public positions as well as elsewhere. Many indigenous peoples hope that 60-year-old Haaland will promote their voice, as well as protect the environment and their rights.
– About time
Biden’s election of Deb Haaland breaks with a series of two decades in which officials who do not come from the indigenous population, mostly men, have headed the ministry. The administration has often worked to take land from the indigenous people.
Leader Fawn Sharp of the National Congress of American Indians, the United States’ oldest and largest organization for indigenous peoples, says it is “high time” that an indigenous people from become Home Secretary.
Jonathan Nez, president of the Navajo Nation, America’s largest Native American reservation, describes the approval as an “incomparable and monumental day” for all Native Americans.
– It can not be expressed in words how ecstatic and proud we are to see one of our own cars approved for such a high position, he says.
Oil and energy
But not everyone celebrates.
Senate Republicans have criticized Haaland’s positions on oil and energy policy for being “radical” and extreme, citing her opposition to the Keystone XL oil pipeline and support for the Green New Deal, a comprehensive plan to cut US dependence on fossil fuels. and reduce CO2 emissions sharply.
In total, Haaland received support from four Republican senators.
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