During the second day of hearings, Haaland argued that his role as secretary of the interior would be very different from his role as an elected member of the House of Representatives.
“The role of a congresswoman in one district in the country is very different from the role of a secretary who is fighting and working for every American and all of our public lands across the country. Those are two different things, I recognize that, “Haaland said.
The statement came after Senator John Barrasso of Wyoming, the Republican member of the committee, confronted Haaland about previous statements she made, including that she is “totally against fracturing and drilling on public land”. After Barrasso mentioned previous comments, he said the committee wants to know how Haaland would advise Biden as president, if confirmed.
Republican Senator Steve Daines of Montana later expressed skepticism about Haaland’s argument that she would distinguish between different roles – arguing that the positions she took as a congressman would impact Americans outside her district.
“Some of your previous positions that you have taken,” he said, “clearly impact more people than just your constituents. So I am not convinced that you will follow that point of view because you have certainly taken some positions that clearly impact people outside of the first district of New Mexico. ”
Republicans have repeatedly argued that the Biden government will kill jobs through its clean energy agenda, which Haaland supports. If confirmed, Haaland would be part of Biden’s plan to tackle the climate crisis and reduce carbon emissions.
In his opening statement, Haaland tried to strike a delicate balance in energy and environmental policy, saying, “There is no doubt that fossil energy plays and will continue to play an important role in America for years to come.” But, she added, “Our climate challenge must be faced”, and she said that “the Department has a role in harnessing the clean energy potential of our public lands to create jobs and new economic opportunities”.
Barrasso said on Tuesday that he felt “concerned” about some of Haaland’s positions on climate and energy issues, while Daines said he was “concerned” about going ahead with the nomination.
In a controversial discussion on Tuesday, Barrasso asked Haaland to answer for an October 2020 tweet in which she said Republicans did not believe in science. The Republican senator pointed out that he and several other Republican members of the committee are doctors and called the observation “worrying”.
“Senator, yes, if you are a doctor, I assume you believe in science,” replied Haaland.
Haaland has repeatedly refused to give his personal views in the face of specific issues from Republican senators during the hearing, saying instead that it would stick to Biden’s agenda.
During Wednesday’s hearing, Republican Sen. James Risch of Idaho repeatedly pressured Haaland on whether she supports the Biden government’s decision to close the Keystone XL pipeline. Haaland first responded by saying that he supports Biden’s decision to revoke the pipeline license.
“I am very confident that the president, his decision – I mean, I have to respect it, sir. He is the president of the United States,” replied Haaland.
Risch accompanied him several times asking directly if she supports closing the pipeline. Haaland finally replied, “Senator, if I say I support President Biden’s agenda, I assume you would accept my answer as a yes.”
Moderate Democratic Senator Joe Manchin, chairman of the committee, has yet to say whether he will vote to confirm Haaland.
Manchin did not speak during Tuesday’s hearing, saying he believes a president deserves “wide latitude” in the selection of his nominees for the Cabinet, but added: “I also take the Senate’s constitutional obligation to advise and consent to the appointment of the president. “
On Wednesday, Manchin thanked Haaland for returning for a second day of interrogation and for “being so diligent and doing such a good job”.
“I just want to thank you for coming back and being so diligent and doing such a good job. Thank you very much, Mrs Haaland, very much,” he said.
During the hearings, Haaland discussed the historical nature of his appointment during the confirmation hearings and discussed his motivation for doing the job.
On Wednesday, Haaland said of his motivation: “This is our entire country, this is our mother. You have heard that Earth refers to Mother Earth.”
She continued: “It is difficult not to feel obliged to protect this land, and I feel that all the indigenous people in this country understand this, which is why we have such a large number of our people who serve in the armed forces. you want to protect this country, and that means protecting it in every way. “
This story and headline were updated on Wednesday with further developments.