On Monday, Senators bipartisanly approved the nomination of Deb Haaland to be the next Secretary of the Interior, and Utah Democrats unequivocally support her nomination and confirmation, and condemn Utah’s Republican Senators, Mike Lee and Mitt Romney, for their votes against Joe Biden’s outstanding appointment. Secretary Haaland will be a champion for public lands, protecting our natural resources from climate change, and for Indigenous communities in Utah and across the United States.
Utahns value public lands as one of our greatest resources, with three-in-five voters wanting Congress to place a greater emphasis on protecting water, air quality, and wildlife habitats. Secretary Haaland understands the value of the incredible outdoors that we hold so dear to us in Utah — growing up in New Mexico, she gained an affinity for hunting and her Native American tribe, the Laguna Pueblo people’s traditions. She played a role in the passing of the Great American Outdoors Act, of which former Democratic Rep. Ben McAdams was a champion, and sought in Congress to make the outdoors as accessible as possible and create more jobs in the outdoor industry to boost the economies of outdoors tourism towns, like Utah’s Moab, Park City, Kanab, and Bluff.
“Secretary Haaland is the Interior Secretary that Utahns have needed for the previous four long years,” said UDP Chair Jeff Merchant. “Now, we have an Interior Secretary presiding over our beautiful National Parks and BLM land who will honor the needs and wants of Utahns, restore our national monuments, and protect clean air across our state. It’s a shame that Senators Lee and Romney have refused to be part of the confirmation of our first Indigenous Interior Secretary. It’s even worse that they continue to choose to ignore the reality: the vast majority of Utahns want to see our public lands and natural resources protected.”
The Utah Democrats applaud the Senate’s bipartisan confirmation of Deb Haaland, and we look forward to her stewardship and leadership of our natural lands.
