A citizen of the Navajo Nation is being tapped to serve as Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs for President Donald Trump though it’s not the person who was publicly lobbying for the job.

Myron Lizer, a Republican and former vice president of the tribe, made no secret of his desire to work in Washington, D.C. He spoke publicly and to the news media about his support for the new Trump administration.

But it’s another Navajo citizen, Republican insider William “Billy” Kirkland, who been tapped for the critical position at the Department of the Interior, the federal agency with the most trust and treaty responsibilities in Indian Country. If confirmed, he would oversee the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Bureau of Indian Education and the Bureau of Trust Funds Administration.

“I know the White House will continue to have an open door policy with all the tribal nations,” Kirkland said at a reception hosted by the Navajo Nation on the eve of Trump’s inauguration as 47th president of the United States last month.

Despite the importance of the position, the White House has not publicly announced Trump’s pick for Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs as of early Tuesday evening. Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum, who was sworn into office over the weekend, has not commented either.

“Today marks the beginning of an exciting chapter for the Department of the Interior,” Burgum, a former governor of North Dakota, said on Monday as he took control of the agency. “We are committed to working collaboratively to unlock America’s full potential in energy dominance and economic development to make life more affordable for every American family while showing the world the power of America’s natural resources and innovation.”

“Together, we will ensure that our policies reflect the needs of our communities, respect tribal sovereignty, and drive innovation that will keep the U.S. at the forefront of energy and environmental leadership,” said Burgum, whose work with tribes in his home state earned him bipartisan praise during his confirmation process.

So instead of an official announcement from Washington, it was eagle-eyed tribal advocates who spotted Kirkland’s name in the Congressional database for presidential picks. According to the entry, the White House sent his nomination to be as Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs to the U.S. Senate on Monday, on the same day Burgum was making some of his first big decisions.

Kirkland, in fact, is among a slew of Interior nominees that were sent to the Senate on Monday, all without public comment. They include Leslie Beyer to serve as Assistant Secretary for Land and Minerals Management; William L. Doffermyre to serve as Solicitor, the highest-ranking legal official at the department; and Andrea Travnicek to serve as Assistant Secretary for Water and Science.

And in another anomaly, the White House referred Kirkland to the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, at least according to the Congressional database. Historically, the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs has always handled the Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs position.

The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, on the other hand, has always handled the bulk of Interior nominees — most notably, the position of Secretary. The panel’s jurisdiction also includes the positions for which Beyer, Doffermyre and Travnicek are being nominated.

With Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) as the new chair of the committee for the 119th Congress, Energy and Natural Resources successfully shepherded Burgum to confirmation as the 55th Secretary of the Interior. The panel has not yet scheduled a hearing for Katharine MacGregor, whose nomination to be Deputy Secretary of the Interior, the second-in-command at the department, was announced by Trump on January 11.

Meanwhile, the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs is just getting to work. With Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) as chair for the 119th Congress, the panel is hosting its first organizational meeting in the nation’s capital on Wednesday afternoon.

Though Kirkland worked in various positions at the White House during the first Trump administration, he has not been known for his work in Indian policy. But he’s prominent in his home state of Georgia for his work on various Republican political campaigns.

According to a resolution passed by the Georgia Legislature, “his extensive experience in the political arena includes serving as a legislative aide in the Georgia House of Representatives for Rep. Jimmy Pruett, serving Governor Sonny Perdue in his office of Intergovernmental Affairs, and serving as the campaign manager for Senator David Perdue’s successful election campaign to the United States Senate.”

The resolution, which was adopted in March 2018, further notes that Kirkland’s “career path has led him to the White House as a highly esteemed Special Assistant to the President and Deputy Director of Intergovernmental Affairs.” In that role, “Billy diligently serves as the direct point of contact for the nation’s mayors, state legislators, county officials, and tribal governments,” the document continues.

“Billy has been able to help our citizens in times of disaster and emergency and has been instrumental in giving state and local leaders from Georgia a voice on issues that are critical to the citizens of this state through regular invitations to the White House to participate in discussions on matters such as infrastructure, tax reform, and the opioid crisis,” the resolution adds.

More recently, Kirkland worked closely with tribes ahead of Trump’s inauguration last month. He was honored by the Coalition of Large Tribes (COLT) during the reception at the Navajo Nation Washington Office on January 19.

“I do want to recognize Billy Kirkland for giving us access,” said Chairman J. Garret Renville of the Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate, who serves as president of COLT, which represents tribes with large land bases.

“I appreciate his service not only to Indian Country, but to your nation as well,” Renville said in reference to Kirkland and the Navajo Nation.

“Anytime we can get Indian Country more involved, whether it’s here in Washington, or in the states,” Kirkland said at the reception, “we definitely want to do so.”

Kirkland’s arrival comes at a pivotal time for Indian Country. The White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB), which is under the control of President Trump, on January 27 ordered a sweeping review of $3 trillion in federal funds — including key tribal programs at the Interior Department.

Following a hearing on Monday morning, a federal judge issued a temporary restraining order against the OMB directive. The 30-page ruling cited a declaration from an Indian Country organization whose member tribes have had trouble accessing the federal funds promised to them as part of the U.S. government’s treaty and trust obligations.

“The federal government has a trust responsibility to tribal nations to provide certain services as agreed to in treaties, authorized in legislation, and affirmed by courts over the past 250 years,” the declaration cited by Judge Loren L. AliKhan reads.

According to the court ruling, “a member of a tribal organization was forced to lay off two employees on January 28 because it could not access its grant funds that day.”

“Similarly, members of a tribal organization who were unable to draw down grant funds starting on January 28 had still not received any funds as recently as January 31,” AliKhan continued as she granted the temporary restraining order requested by a coalition of non-profits.

The Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs position was created in 1977. A Native person has always held the job.

There have been 14 people who have been confirmed by the Senate. The list follows: