Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland is slated to speak Thursday at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago about climate change.
Climate change and the environment are expected to be the theme of the convention’s last night before Vice President Kamala Harris takes the stage.
Haaland, who is from Laguna Pueblo, rose through the ranks of the state Democratic party — first serving as chair of the party in 2015, then representing New Mexico in Congress starting in 2019.
Haaland cut her term short by several months in 2021 when she was tapped by the Joe Biden administration to serve in her current role of secretary of the interior. She is the first Indigenous cabinet secretary.
Since assuming the post, Haaland published new policies to “factor the climate crisis into all operations,” according to the department. Also last year she issued an order blocking oil and gas extraction in public lands surrounding the Chaco Culture National Historical Park.