Democratic Senator Joe Manchin, chair of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, said on Wednesday he will vote for New Mexico Rep. Deb Haaland to serve as Secretary of the Interior, paving the way for her likely approval as the first. Native American holding a Cabinet Office.
Manchin, a West Virginia moderate, had been publicly undecided during two days of hearings over Haaland’s nomination by President Joe Biden. Manchin caused political uproar last week by announcing plans to oppose Biden’s choice of budget director, Neera Tanden, a crucial defection that could sink her nomination to the equally divided Senate.
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Manchin, on the other hand, said that Haaland had earned his vote, despite disagreements over the drilling on federal lands and the Keystone XL oil pipeline.
“I believe Deb Haaland will be the Secretary of the Interior for every American and will vote to confirm her,” Manchin said in a statement. “While we cannot agree on all issues, she reaffirmed her strong commitment to duality, meeting the diverse needs of our country and maintaining our country’s energy independence. ″
Haaland’s House colleagues on both sides of the aisle, including Alaska Republican Rep. Don Young praised Haaland’s dual accomplishments and “sincere willingness to collaborate on important issues,” said Manchin.
Manchin also said he was pleased that in hearings this week, Haaland said the Biden administration is committed to continuing to use fossil fuels “for years to come, even as we move to a cleaner energy future through innovation, not elimination.”
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A longtime defender of the coal industry, Manchin heads a committee critical to Biden’s efforts to tackle climate change, but has voiced skepticism about some of the actions advocates say are needed to reduce the harmful greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to global warming. reduce global warming. He has stressed the need to create jobs with clean energy to replace jobs likely to be lost in the transition from coal, oil and natural gas.
Manchin’s announcement came when Republicans denounced Haaland, saying her opposition to fracking, Keystone XL, and other issues made her unfit to serve in a role where she would oversee energy development in vast swathes of federal lands, primarily in the West, as well as offshore. drilling in the Gulf of Mexico and Alaska.
Louisiana Senator John Kennedy, a Republican who is not part of the energy panel, called Haaland “a neo-socialist, left-of-Lenin manhunt.”
While seeking to learn more about her, Kennedy added, “No honest person believes we can power the greatest economy in all of human history … without oil and gas. And she seems to think we can. And I do. think we can do it she lives in la-la-land and I just don’t think that radical approach will serve America well. ″
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Wyoming Senator John Barrasso, the senior Republican of the Senate energy panel, said a moratorium imposed by Biden on oil and gas leases on federal lands “is a sledgehammer at the economies of Western states.” as many as 33,000 jobs in Wyoming, Barrasso said, while another 62,000 workers in Haaland’s home state of New Mexico are at risk.
Barrasso and other Republicans also lamented Biden’s rejection of the Keystone XL pipeline from Canada to the US Gulf Coast, saying thousands of jobs will be lost and a friendly source of oil will remain inactive. Haaland said during questioning on Wednesday that she supports Biden’s decision, stressing that she will follow his agenda in the Interior Department – not her own.
Manchin said he was pleased that Haaland had made it clear that she is committed to expanding a program to clean up abandoned coal mines across the country, including West Virginia.
Several Republican senators, including Lisa Murkowski from Alaska, a former Senate energy chair, have not revealed how they will vote on Haaland’s nomination, although it seems likely most Republicans will oppose her.
Senator Steve Daines, R-Mont., Called Haaland “a harsh ideologue with radical views out of touch with Montana and the West. He cited her opposition to Keystone XL and statements she had made before her appointment calling for a ban on Daines became confused with Haaland during her confirmation hearing about her previous opposition to capture on public land and her support for continued federal protection of grizzly bears.
He asked Haaland why she co-sponsored a bill to continue the protection of grizzly bears “when science tells us the bear numbers are well above the recovery targets” of the Endangered Species Act.
“I imagine I cared about the bears back then,” Haaland replied. She later said she “would like to look into that matter” with Daines.
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Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., Another former Energy chairman, told Haaland he was “all-in” for her confirmation and would not only vote yes but also speak on the Senate floor on her behalf.
“I think you’ve claimed without a doubt that you’re there for rural jobs,” Wyden said. People in the West ‘want jobs and environmental protection. We see them as two sides of the same coin, ″ he added.