{"id":8537,"date":"2021-03-04T11:57:11","date_gmt":"2021-03-04T16:57:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.indianz.com\/News\/?p=8537"},"modified":"2021-03-05T10:19:42","modified_gmt":"2021-03-05T15:19:42","slug":"deb-haaland-clears-first-senate-vote-as-secretary-for-the-interior","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2021\/03\/04\/deb-haaland-clears-first-senate-vote-as-secretary-for-the-interior\/","title":{"rendered":"Deb Haaland clears first Senate vote as Secretary for the Interior"},"content":{"rendered":"\"debhaaland\"\r\n
Rep. Deb Haaland (D-New Mexico) appears before the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources on the second day of her confirmation hearing to be Secretary of the Interior on February 24, 2021. Photo: DebHaalandNM<\/a> <\/figcaption>\r\n
Deb Haaland clears first Senate vote as Secretary for the Interior<\/div>\r\n
Thursday, March 4, 2021<\/div>\r\n
By Acee Agoyo<\/div>\r\n
Indianz.Com<\/div>\r\n

<\/p>\r\nWASHINGTON, D.C. — Rep. Deb Haaland<\/a> (D-New Mexico) is on her way to making history yet again, this time as the first Native person in a presidential cabinet.\r\n

<\/p>\r\nBy a vote of 11 to 9<\/a> on Thursday morning, Haaland cleared her first major hurdle in her nomination to be Secretary of the Interior<\/a>. She recognized the landmark development on social media<\/a>.\r\n

<\/p>\r\n“My life experiences give me hope for the future,” said Haaland<\/a>, who is a citizen of the Pueblo of Laguna<\/a>, an Indian nation with homelands in New Mexico.\r\n

<\/p>\r\n“If an Indigenous woman from humble beginnings can be confirmed as Secretary of the @Interior<\/a>, our country and its promise still holds true for everyone,” Haaland added, referring to the Department of the Interior<\/a>, the federal agency with the most trust and treaty responsibilities in Indian Country.\r\n

<\/p>\r\n

\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\"Deb\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\n\t
\n\t\t\n\t\t\tDeb Haaland (@DebHaalandNM) on X\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/div>\n\t
\n\t\t\n\t\t\t

My life experiences give me hope for the future. If an Indigenous woman from humble beginnings can be confirmed as Secretary of the @Interior, our country and its promise still holds true for everyone.<\/p>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/div>\n\t

\n\t\t\"X\t\tX (formerly Twitter)\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\r\n

<\/p>\r\nHaaland was approved by the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee<\/a> with the full support of Democrats. Sen. Joe Manchin<\/a> (D-West Virginia), the chairman of the legislative committee, set the tone for the business meeting in the nation’s capital<\/a>.\r\n

<\/p>\r\n“It is long past time to give a Native American woman a seat at the Cabinet table,” said Manchin.\r\n

<\/p>\r\nBut the actual outcome of the committee’s vote wasn’t fully known until a key Republican spoke in support of Haaland. Sen. Lisa Murkowski<\/a> (R-Alaska) said she heard the voices of Alaska Natives<\/a> who want to see a Native person serve at the highest levels of the U.S. government.\r\n

<\/p>\r\nNative people in Alaska, Murkowski said, are “enormously proud to have a Native American nominated to this position.”\r\n

<\/p>\r\n

\r\n