WASHINGTON ― Interior Secretary Deb Haaland on Wednesday threw her support behind Kamala Harris as the 2024 Democratic presidential nominee, praising her record of advocacy for Indigenous people and other marginalized communities.
“I wholeheartedly endorse Kamala Harris as our next President of the United States,” Haaland told HuffPost in an exclusive statement.
“Kamala has been a staunch advocate for Tribal people, for women, and for marginalized communities,” said Haaland, speaking in her personal capacity. “She has the strength to win and lead, and I will do everything I can to ensure her success.”
President Joe Biden made history in 2020 when he said he planned to choose Haaland to lead the Interior Department. She is the first Indigenous person to ever serve as a Cabinet secretary, and the significance of having a Native American woman atop the Interior Department — the agency tasked with upholding the government’s trust and treaty obligations to tribal nations, in addition to managing 500 million acres of land stolen from tribes — is particularly profound.
“A voice like mine has never been a Cabinet secretary or at the head of the Department of Interior,” Haaland said in December 2020, when Biden first announced he would nominate her to the post. “Growing up in my mother’s Pueblo household made me fierce. I’ll be fierce for all of us, our planet, and all of our protected land. I am honored and ready to serve.”
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While it’s not particularly surprising that a longtime Democrat and key member of the Biden administration is endorsing Harris for president, it certainly sends a message to tribes and Native Americans nationwide that Harris has Haaland’s public blessing, just months away from the November election — one that could be decided in the margins.
Native American voters were crucial to Biden’s victory in 2020.
In her Wednesday statement, Haaland said she’s been humbled by working under Biden and that the best way to build on his successes is to rally behind Harris.
“Serving under President Biden has been a dream that not even my ancestors could have imagined,” she said. “His mentorship to me — the first Indigenous member of any President’s cabinet — is beyond measure. I can think of no greater priority than to ensure that the historic progress he has made on behalf of all Americans endures.”