First Native American Interior Secretary confirmed by U.S. Senate

Washington, D.C. — Congresswoman Uifa’atali Amata congratulates Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland upon confirmation by the U.S. Senate, and welcomes her to this key leadership role, which is important to American Samoa.

 “I want to welcome and congratulate Secretary Haaland, my former colleague,” said Congresswoman Amata. “She mentioned that she wants to come and see American Samoa on a visit soon. I know Secretary Haaland as we served together on the House Natural Resources Committee. She is qualified and ready to provide steady leadership to the Department, and she takes her place in U.S. history as the first Native American in this role. I’m pleased to have the top leadership of the Department in place, so that work and decisions can move forward. The role of the Interior Department is always important to the Insular Areas.”

Secretary Haaland was nominated by President Biden, and received support from the start from Dean of the House Don Young (R-Alaska), ultimately having the support of the Republican delegation from Alaska, including Sen. Lisa Murkowski and Sen. Dan Sullivan. In addition to Democratic support, she also received bipartisan support from Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine).

BACKGROUND

Yesterday the U.S. Senate voted to confirm Representative Debra Haaland (D-NM) to be Secretary of the Interior by a vote of 51-40. U.S. Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV), Chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, released the following statement after voting to confirm Rep. Haaland on Monday.

“Today, I voted to confirm Representative Debra Haaland as Secretary of the Interior. While I may not personally agree with some of her past statements and policy positions, as Secretary, she will be carrying out President Biden’s agenda. At her hearing, she confirmed that she and the administration recognize that our country will remain dependent on fossil fuels for years to come, and a transition to a cleaner energy future must come through innovation, not elimination. She also affirmed her strong commitment to bipartisanship and the need to work across the aisle to find the bipartisan solutions needed to address the diverse needs of our country. President Biden has also expressed his commitment to assembling a Cabinet that reflects our diverse country. 230 years after George Washington assembled his first Cabinet, it is long past time to have a Native American woman at the table. I look forward to working with Rep. Haaland to protect our public lands and ensure the responsible use of all our natural resources in a bipartisan manner.”

(Source: Dept. of Interior media statement)