Pelosi pushes Rep. Deb Haaland for interior secretary as Biden finalizes environmental team

President-elect Joe Biden is putting the final touches on his team leading environmental policy across the U.S., but still has a few key selections left to announce.

After announcing his transportation and energy secretaries this week, as well as his climate czar and head of the Council on Environmental Quality, Biden has yet to name his picks to lead the Environmental Protection Agency and Interior Department. But Biden is reportedly close to nominating Michael Regan and Rep. Deb Haaland (D-N.M.) to those roles, respectively, with the latter getting some high-profile support.

Biden has so far nabbed two Democratic congressmembers from the House's already-slim majority, and his reported top choice of Haaland for interior secretary would only narrow House Democrats' power further. But House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Wednesday encouraged Biden to pick Haaland anyway, saying she "knows the territory" and would be an "excellent choice" for the post.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Biden is meanwhile "close" to naming Regan, the secretary of the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality, to lead the EPA, people close to the matter tell Axios. Regan also served in air quality roles under former Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush.

So far, Biden has picked former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg to lead the Department of Transportation, former EPA administrator Gina McCarthy as his climate czar, and former Secretary of State John Kerry as his special presidential envoy for climate. And on Wednesday, Biden picked environmental lawyer and federal government veteran Brenda Mallory to lead the Council on Environmental Quality, The New York Times reports. Mallory will likely bring a focus on environmental justice to the role.