FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

March 16, 2021

Haaland ‘earned support from the left, the right and the middle’

MCV congratulates Interior Secretary on bipartisan Senate confirmation

(BOZEMAN, Mont.) – Montana Conservation Voters released the following statement from Executive Director Whitney Tawney in response to today’s bipartisan U.S. Senate confirmation of Representative Deb Haaland as the nation’s next Secretary of the Interior:

“Secretary Haaland earned support from the left, the right and middle because she’s overwhelmingly qualified for the enormous challenges ahead of protecting our public lands, our climate, our natural resources and the countless jobs that rely on all of them. We honor her historic tenure as the first Indigenous person to serve in a cabinet position – as the federal government’s top liaison to Indigenous nations. Secretary Haaland, congratulations – Montanans stand ready to work with you. And to Senator Daines, your position against Haaland has once again proven you’re out of touch with the Big Sky State.”

Haaland earned bipartisan support even despite Senator Steve Daines’ short-sighted opposition and efforts to block her nomination. Tawney called Daines’ failed delay effort an “attempt to be relevant in the swamp,” adding that his attempt ”effectively seals his legacy as one of the most anti-public lands politicians in Montana’s rich history.”

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