Deb Haaland, the secretary of the interior under President Joe Biden, appeared to start crying during her appearance before the US House Committee on Natural Resources.
Haaland then briefly looked to start crying, saying, “I really do have to say that all of this is because climate change is the crisis of our lifetime.”
“We have an obligation to future generations to make sure that we have a planet for them to live on. And that’s why I’m here, and that’s why I’m working incredibly hard to make sure that we can realize that transition, that we can have differing energy sources. We can’t continue to be a one-industry country.”
Biden Interior Secretary literally starts crying during a congressional hearing: "All of this is because climate change is the crisis of our lifetime!" pic.twitter.com/7X6KzXjyhe
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) April 19, 2023
Republican Minnesota Congressman Pete Stauber criticized Haaland before the tears for allegedly lying under oath and for restricting mining in his district.
Stauber posted a video of the entire discussion to Twitter along with the statement, “Secretary Haaland banned mining in my district without knowing we have critical minerals there or knowing where the withdrawal took place.”
Secretary Haaland banned mining in my district without knowing we have critical minerals there or knowing where the withdrawal took place. That's unacceptable. Watch my exchange with her in a @NatResources hearing here ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/vkUEz3ehVn
— Pete Stauber (@RepPeteStauber) April 19, 2023
Soon after being confirmed in 2021, Haaland—the first Native American cabinet secretary in US history—reversed a number of Trump administration measures that aimed to increase oil and gas development on American soil.
Many acts that attempted to support oil, gas, and coal exploitation on federal lands and waters are reversed by Secretary Haaland’s Order 3398. Additionally, it creates a department-wide policy, “to listen to the science; to address societal inequities and create opportunities for the American people; to conserve and restore our land, water, and wildlife; to reduce greenhouse gas emissions; to create jobs through a growing clean energy economy; and to bolster resilience to the impacts of climate change.”
