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

Rep. Deb Haaland.
(Image credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

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.

The Week

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

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

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.

Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.