Deb Haaland, formerly a congressional representative for New Mexico, has been Senate-confirmed to lead the Department of the Interior and has taken her oath for the role.
Jennifer Van der Heide, DOI chief of staff, administered the oath-taking ceremony for Haaland, who will undergo a swearing-in with Vice President Kamala Harris on a later date, the department said Tuesday.
Haaland worked on policy to help New Mexico address climate change, protect indigenous women and promote economic and environmental justice in the state.
"I feel immensely satisfied to have been able to accomplish so much for New Mexico families in such a short amount of time, and I’m grateful to my team for their hard work and all the New Mexicans who called, wrote and shared their input over the past two years,” said Haaland, who congressionally represented New Mexico from 2019 to early 2021.
