The voice of Galicia
hope balaguer
new York. the voice
19/12/2020 05:00 h
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The president-elect of the United States, Joe Biden, has opted for the Indian legislator Deb Haaland to head the Department of the Interior, a historic choice for the portfolio in charge of managing the country’s natural resources, including the territories of native tribes.
Born 60 years ago in Winslow, Arizona, Haaland is a member of the Laguna Pueblo community of New Mexico, and could become the first Native American to head the department, if confirmed by the Senate. His election marks a turning point in the 171 years of a government office that has had a complicated relationship with the 574 federally recognized tribes of the country.
Haaland has promised to use the Department which manages a fifth of the US territory and has almost 70,000 employees to promote renewable energy and the fight against the climate crisis. A radical change in policy after the last four years of an Administration that defends fossil fuels at all costs.
Donald Trump inaugurated his arrival at the White House in January 2017 with the authorization of the construction of the controversial Keystone XL and North Dakota pipelines, a month after Barack Obama paralyzed the construction of the second due to the protests of the Sioux tribe and defenders of the environment.
A break with the indigenous communities that Haaland try to rebuild. It would be a great honor to advance the Biden-Harris climate agenda and help mend relations between the government and the tribes that the Trump Administration has marred, the nominee said in a statement. In 2018, she was elected as a congresswoman for New Mexico, where she has worked to improve the services of the natives and, especially, assistance during the coronavirus pandemic, which seriously affected the community.
In her quest to create the most diverse cabinet in history and put the fight against climate change at the center of the agenda, Biden added the appointment of former female governor of Michigan, Jennifer Granholm, to head the Department of Energy. ; as well as Michael Regan, a prominent African-American environmental regulator from North Carolina, who heads the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), where he previously worked under the Bill Clinton and George W. Bush Administrations. The president-elect has already appointed most of his cabinet and is expected to complete the list before Christmas Day. The highest post that remains without a candidate is that of attorney general of the United States.
