Susan Collins Caves, Becomes First Republican Senator to Support Biden Pick For Interior Secretary

U.S. Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) announced today that she will be the first Republican senator to support President Biden’s pick for Interior secretary, U.S. House Rep Deb Haaland (D-NM).

The announcement makes Haaland’s confirmation by the Senate nearly certain and follows Haaland’s endorsement last week by U.S. Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV), who is chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.

Previously, Manchin was publicly undecided through two days of hearings on Haaland’s nomination.

Manchin caused a political uproar last month by announcing plans to oppose Biden’s choice for budget director, Neera Tanden, a decision that played a key role in Tanden’s decision to withdraw yesterday.

Collins frequently sides with Manchin and said although she differs with Haaland on a number of issues, she appreciated her role in helping to lead House passage of the Great American Outdoors Act.

The landmark law, which was co-sponsored by Collins in the Senate, authorizes nearly $3 billion on conservation projects, outdoor recreation and maintenance of national parks and other public lands.

Collins said she also appreciated Haaland’s support on conservation issues, such as Maine’s Acadia National Park, “as well as her deep knowledge of tribal issues, which has earned her the support of tribes across the country, including those in Maine.”

The U.S. Department of Interior oversees the nation’s public lands and waters and leads relations with nearly 600 federally recognized tribes. A press release on its site last month announced that Biden intends “Bold action to preserve public lands and waters, invest in clean energy future.”

The Senate energy panel is set to vote on Haaland’s nomination tomorrow and several Republicans, including U.S. Senator John Barrasso (R-WY), the top GOP senator on energy, oppose Haaland, saying her opposition to fracking, the Keystone XL oil pipeline and other issues made her unfit to serve in a role.

If confirmed, she will oversee energy development on vast swaths of federal lands, mostly in the West, as well as offshore drilling in the Gulf of Mexico and Alaska.

Barrasso said a moratorium imposed by Biden on oil and gas leases on federal lands “is taking a sledgehammer to Western states’ economies″ and the moratorium, which Haaland supports, could cost thousands of jobs in West, Barrasso said.

During the hearing last Tuesday, Barrasso confronted Haaland about a tweet from October 2020 in which she said that Republicans don’t believe in science.

Barrasso pointed out that he and several other Republican members of the committee are medical doctors and called the remark “concerning” and asked, “Do you think that as medical doctors we don’t believe in science? How do you stand by this statement?”

Haaland replied sharply, “Senator, yes, if you’re a doctor, I would assume that you believe in science.”

Barrasso also reportedly said that he remains “troubled” by some of Haaland’s positions on climate and energy issues, saying that her views are “views that many in my home state of Wyoming would consider as radical.”