President Joe Biden's historic pick to manage the nation's public lands and natural resources promised to strike a balance between fossil fuel and renewable energy development during her confirmation hearing, Tuesday. Congresswoman Deb Haaland would be not just the first Native American Interior Secretary, but also the first in a presidential cabinet. She faced tough — and, at times, misguided — questioning from Republican lawmakers worried about the president's climate goals. Numerous Republican Senators focused their questioning on Biden's oil and gas leasing "ban" on federal lands, citing projected economic and job losses from the executive action. Haaland repeatedly pointed out that the president has not banned new oil and gas leasing, but paused it while his administration reviews the federal leasing program. Biden has promised to move the country away from climate-warming fossil fuels and invest in renewable energy, "but that isn't going to happen overnight," Haaland said. Fossil
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