All articles tagged with #deb haaland
Deb Haaland won the Democratic primary for New Mexico governor, defeating Sam Bregman, and would become the first Native American woman to hold the office if elected. She faces a Republican opponent in November and has leaned into her ancestral heritage and Biden-era accomplishments while focusing on issues like healthcare, costs, and jobs, including emphasizing her stance against the policies she says are harming New Mexicans.
Navajo landowners protested against US Interior Secretary Deb Haaland's visit to New Mexico after a new rule was introduced to limit oil and gas activity around Chaco Canyon for the next 20 years. The Navajo landowners blocked the way to the sacred site, forcing Haaland to move to Albuquerque. The landowners feared that their land would be taken from them under the new drilling ban. The conservation efforts have been decades in the making, and those in attendance all view this as a win for Chaco Canyon. The site is held sacred for many Indigenous groups in New Mexico.
Interior Secretary Deb Haaland defended her decision to shut down a Minnesota critical mineral mine, saying that there were already a lot of jobs available for Americans. Haaland's remarks came in response to a question about her decision this year to ban mining across 225,504 acres near Duluth, Minnesota, from Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., during a Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing Tuesday afternoon. Hawley criticized the decision, highlighting the expected positive economic impacts of the project, which its developer said would create more than 1,000 jobs.
Interior Secretary Deb Haaland dismissed concerns from Missouri Senator Josh Hawley over the Biden administration's prioritization of climate change over energy security, claiming that there are "too many jobs" in the country. Hawley accused the administration of making the US more dependent on China by blocking mining permits for American natural resources. Haaland defended the agency's move to protect the ecosystem in northern Minnesota, but Hawley argued that the administration is sacrificing blue-collar jobs for a left-wing climate agenda. The Biden administration is funding critical mineral projects in Canada and Argentina while American mining operations face obstacles from the White House.
Senator Joe Manchin criticized Interior Secretary Deb Haaland for ignoring federal law on fossil fuel and critical mineral development and for the delay in developing a five-year offshore oil and gas lease sale plan. Manchin accused Haaland and the administration of ignoring language in the Inflation Reduction Act that requires the government to continue developing offshore oil and gas before exploring offshore wind or onshore wind and solar production. Haaland blamed the Trump administration for the delay and said the final plan would be ready in September. Manchin also accused the administration of failing to follow the 2021 infrastructure law that calls for more permitting of critical mineral development.
Interior Secretary Deb Haaland faced criticism from environmental groups and Indigenous organizations for approving the Willow oil project in Alaska, which they say contradicts President Joe Biden's climate change agenda. Haaland, the first Native American Cabinet member, had opposed the project when she served in Congress. She explained that the Interior Department had to make difficult choices, and the final approval reflects a substantially smaller project than originally proposed. The project has divided Alaska Native groups, with some supporting it as a job creator and others opposing it due to concerns about its impact on wildlife and subsistence lifestyles.
President Biden's approval of the controversial Alaskan oil-drilling project, Willow, has put Interior Secretary Deb Haaland in a difficult spot as she had opposed the project when she was a member of Congress. The project is expected to produce 576 million barrels of oil over 30 years but will also produce an estimated 239 million metric tons of carbon emissions. Environmental groups believe that Haaland was overruled and her influence in the administration is in question. However, supporters of Haaland still think she can be an effective ally within the administration.