Day 2 of Deb Haaland's confirmation hearing begins.
Newly elected Sen. Mark Kelly is up, but as he talks, there's a weird echo and woman's voice reverberating in the room.
Manchin: "There's a female voice coming through."
😂
Kelly talking about how "special" the Grand Canyon is. Says he and Sen. Sinema intro'd a bill to ban uranium mining outside the park and asked if she would support their proposal for a permanent ban.
Haaland: "I look forward to discussing this issue with you."
Risch is up. Asks Haaland whether she supports Biden's plan to stop the Keystone Pipeline.
"I have to respect it sir," she says. "He is the president of the United States."
Risch just asked Haaland this question like 5-6 times.
Got the same answer each time: I support Biden's agenda, he's the president and this is his administration.
BTW here's how much money Risch and all the other GOP senators on this committee have taken from the oil and gas industry. Something to keep in mind as they try to cast Haaland as "radical" for wanting to protect public lands as Interior sec.
Via Accountable Senate War Room.
And... Barrasso just tried to argue that Haaland supports selling drugs to generate state revenue instead relying on oil and gas royalties. Really.
Whhhhhaaaaaaat.
Barrasso: Do you still think states should replace oil + gas royalties with taxes on sale of marijuana? (She's backed legalizing cannabis in NM to generate revenue.)
Haaland: The point was we should diversify our funding streams.
Barrasso: "Your preference is to turn to drugs."
That was a cheap, misleading shot by Barrasso.
He dramatically ended his remarks by suggesting Deb Haaland prefers peddling drugs instead of protecting oil and gas industry workers.
Here's what Haaland has actually said on cannabis legalization -- as a congresswoman representing her district in NM.
She's backed it as a potential new funding stream for the education system + said it could help decrease reliance on private prisons. newmexiconewsport.com/n-m-congressio…
A reminder of how much money Barrasso has taken from the oil and gas industry as he tries to cast Deb Haaland as a drug peddler not concerned about the welfare of the oil and gas industry.
Sen. Daines is up.
He's the GOP senator who has gone the furthest in opposing Haaland's nomination, saying he will block her (he can't) and routinely calling this Native American congresswoman "radical" for wanting to protect public lands as Interior secretary.
Murkowski is up. Talking about ANCs (Alaska Native Corps) + how the state's tribal infrastructure is very different than other states.
Haaland: I know ANCs provide key services to the state's 229 tribes. "They're not like any other corporations when we think of corporations."
A thing that is clear after watching yesterday's and now today's confirmation hearing for Deb Haaland:
Sens. Daines and Barrasso have already made up their minds to oppose her and their questions are set up entirely to try to make her look extreme.
Newly elected Sen. Marshall was just up, talking about himself as "little Roger Marshall" shooting a bird and being "a hero" for it.
"Whiskey's for drinking, water's for fighting," he says in another story about himself.
Okay.
Sen. Wyden now telling Haaland he's ready to support her and also "speak for you on the floor of the Senate because I think you have made the case beyond a doubt that you'll be there for rural jobs."
"I'm all in!" -- Sen. Wyden on Haaland
Barrasso is back up.
He wrapped up his last round of Q&A with Haaland by suggesting she's a drug peddler, by the way.
Barrasso, seemingly outraged at something: Can I get your commitment that you'll answer my written questions.
Haaland: Yep.
Barrasso: You backed a bill to give permanent federal protection to grizzly bears. You said you cared about the bears. I want to make sure you care about law.
She started talking + he interrupted by shouting, "I'm talking about the law!"
Haaland: I'll always follow the law.
That was jarring. He just shouted at her for... some reason.
Now Daines is back. Feels like he's grasping for tough Qs.
"Isn't the role of the Interior Secretary to advise the president, not just follow blindly?"
Haaland: "I'm part of a team." I'd work with all cabinet secretaries and President Biden.
"You'd be eighth in line to the president of the U.S." Daines tells Haaland.
Did not know this. Not bad!
Can't believe Barrasso just shouted at Haaland.
Totally unexpected, harsh and a stark contrast to her thoughtful, polite, conciliatory tone.
Things Barrasso has said and done during Deb Haaland's confirmation hearing:
*Suggested she's a drug peddler
*Suggested she won't follow science
*Called her "radical"
*Abruptly shouted at her
And... Deb Haaland's confirmation hearing is over.
No date announced yet on when the committee will vote to send her nomination to the Senate floor.
• • •
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to
force a refresh
Deb Haaland, Biden's Interior Secretary pick poised to make history as the first-ever Native American cabinet sec, got her confirmation hearing this week.
She also got a bunch of lectures from science-denying Republicans about the need to follow science. huffpost.com/entry/gop-sena…
"Republicans, by the way, are guided by science," Sen. Bill Cassidy insisted to Haaland in her confirmation hearing.
In a stunning 2015 vote, Cassidy + other GOPers rejected legislation stating that human activity is “a significant contributor” to climate change. AKA science.
“I do hope you’ll respect the science,” Sen. Steve Daines told Haaland in her hearing.
Daines, who previously advocated teaching creationism in public schools, blames lawsuits from anti-logging enviro "extremists" for upticks in wildfires, not climate change. AKA science.
Sen. Barrasso is up. He has said Haaland’s “radical views are squarely at odds with the responsible management" of public lands.
I wonder why a guy who's taken $1.14M from the oil/gas industry would think protecting public lands from drilling is radical? huffpost.com/entry/gop-sena…
Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska), who is about to testify in support of Haaland's nomination, just laughed out loud at Barrasso dramatically talking about how big Wyoming is.
National civil rights groups joining forces to help get Deb Haaland confirmed as Interior Sec.
New joint statement from NAACP, UnidosUS and Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum, among others, praising her as "historic" + "a proven civil rights/racial justice advocate."
Part of their statement:
"A proven civil rights and racial justice advocate, Rep. Haaland will ably serve all Americans in her role as Interior Secretary, ensuring that the Department’s policies are both equitable and just."
Groups on the letter:
*Advancement Project National Office
*Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum
*Demos
*Faith in Action
*NAACP
*National Congress of American Indians
*National Urban League
*Race Forward
Well well. Conservative Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska) is testifying in support of Deb Haaland in her Senate confirmation hearing next week.
Smart move by her team. Will make it harder for Senate GOPers in there trying to frame Haaland as "radical."
Why are Republican Sens. Steve Daines and John Barrasso -- both of whom will play a role in Haaland's confirmation hearing -- attacking her as "radical" for wanting to protect public lands as Interior Secretary?
That Daines and Barrasso are suggesting a Native American woman is "radical" for wanting to protect public lands is also incredibly offensive + tone deaf given the U.S. government's violent history of forcibly removing Native Americans from their lands. huffpost.com/entry/gop-sena…
Been hearing from more Montana tribal leaders not happy with Sen. Steve Daines (R-Mont.) for vowing to block Biden's Interior Secretary nominee, Native American congresswoman Deb Haaland, because she is "radical." huffpost.com/entry/gop-sena…
“Representative Haaland is not a radical," said Andrew Werk, president of Fort Belknap Indian Community Tribal Council in MT. "This is about who’s qualified for the job. And she definitely is.”
He noted Daines didn’t mention MT tribes at all in his statement attacking Haaland.
“It just makes my blood boil,” said Floyd Azure, chairman of the Fort Peck Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes in MT.
Sen. Daines' efforts to tank Deb Haaland's nomination "just go to show that Native Americans are just second-rate citizens here in this country."
In layman's terms: it means Dems aren't going to let Republicans deny committee hearings to Biden's appeals court nominees by refusing to turn in a blue slip -- literally a blue slip of paper -- signaling they're cool with proceeding with a nominee from that senator's home state.
Blue slips are a courtesy in the Judiciary Committee, not an official rule, back when courtesy was *a thing.*
The idea is that a senator should get to sign off -- or not sign off -- on proceeding with a president's judicial nominee from their home state.