Interior Secretary Deb Haaland sounded an optimistic note at the COP26 international climate summit about President Biden’s environmental agenda, despite an ongoing stalemate over a major spending package.
The Senate’s confirmation of Rep. Deb Haaland
Up and down the administration, women and people of color are taking political roles in the Cabinet, and as political appointees leading Washington’s bureaucracies.
The Biden administration has seen historic firsts in the form of the first woman to serve as vice president, the first female Treasury secretary, the first Black leader of the Pentagon and the first immigrant to run the Department of Homeland Security.
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It remains early on in Biden’s presidency. He has yet to have his full Cabinet confirmed by the Senate, and he will still need to nominate and get confirmed dozens of deputy and senior-level officials. But experts indicated that based on initial data, paired with his choice of senior-level White House staff, Biden is on track to have a more diverse administration than any past president.
In an executive order signed on his first day in office, President Biden
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During the Trump administration, former President Trump
Biden s executive order called for the submission of the secretary’s report within 60 days, or March 21. However, the Interior Department announced Wednesday that the secretary would release her report in April after her visit.
During her visit to Utah, Haaland, the nation’s first Native American Cabinet secretary, is set to meet with local governmental and tribal leaders, according to Interior.
“Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland is looking forward to visiting Utah in April to meet with stakeholders, Tribes, and elected leaders. The Interior Department’s report to the President on national monuments, as called for in Executive Order 14008, will reflect those conversations and will be transmitted to the White House following the trip,” the department said in a statement.