DNC Climate Council Endorses Representatives Fudge and Haaland for Key Posts in the Biden-Harris Administration

The following statement is from Michelle Deatrick, Founder and Chair of the DNC Environment and Climate Crisis Council and DNC Member from Michigan: 

“The Council is honored to endorse Representative Marcia Fudge (D-OH) to be Secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Representative Deb Haaland (D-NM) to be Secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior. If confirmed, Representative Marcia Fudge would be the first African-American woman to lead the USDA in its 158 years, and Representative Deb Haaland would be the first Native-American to lead Interior—and the first Native American ever to serve as a Cabinet secretary.

These climate champions would work with dedication and effectiveness to address the worsening climate crisis and the myriad of other environmental issues facing our nation. 

Voters turned out in record numbers to elect Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, and they have handed the incoming administration a mandate for a green, sustainable, and equitable future. These historic Cabinet picks would play key roles in helping the Biden Administration begin to undo the damage Trump and his administration have done to people and to the planet. Furthermore, Representatives Fudge and Haaland will lead and enable the transformative change that is urgently needed to ensure a sustainable future. 

The Departments of Agriculture and of the Interior have profound impacts on environmental justice, the environment, and climate. Representative Fudge will bring to the table over a decade of vital experience addressing nutrition, hunger, and poverty, a profound understanding of both her urban district and her agricultural state, and the earned trust and respect of the heartland. Representative Haaland brings a strong record of effective fighting for the Earth and equity. She is an Indigenous Rights leader and a fossil fuel fighter, a steward of our resources, and a champion of the end to fossil fuel extraction on public lands that is an integral part of Joe Biden’s climate plan. 

The DNC Climate Council looks forward to working with President Biden’s entire administration to take the urgent, bold actions needed to ensure the U.S.rejoins the global community in fighting the climate crisis and upholding environmental justice.”