Interior Stonewalling Media on Sec. Haaland’s Ethics Controversies

​​Interior Sec. Deb Haaland and officials at the Department of the Interior are not upholding their promise of transparency, and for three months they’ve dodged mounting ethics questions about the Biden cabinet member’s conflicts of interest.
 
At issue is the connection between Sec. Haaland and her daughter’s activism on agency-related issues. As an employee of a New Mexico indigenous and climate action group, Somah Haaland’s focus includes lobbying Congress and leading community organizing campaigns on policies in which Sec. Haaland has sole decision-making authority. In addition, according to recently obtained agency documents, Somah’s climate group was part of a coalition that organized a violent protest at Interior’s headquarters.

When asked about coordination that’s taken place behind the scenes between Sec. Haaland and her daughter, agency officials have repeatedly refused to comment.

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