Anti-Science Senator Daines Puts Hold on Deb Haaland Nomination for Interior Secretary – Comes Up With New ‘Concern’

U.S. Senator Steve Daines (R-MT) has placed a “hold” on the nomination of Congresswoman Deb Haaland (D-NM) to be President Joe Biden’s Secretary of the Interior. After attacking her on a number of issues and calling her “radical,” the far right Montana Republican has come up with a new reason to oppose Haaland: she “wants to ban trapping on public lands.”

If confirmed Haaland (photo) would be the first Native American to head that department and the first Native American to sit in a U.S. president’s Cabinet.

Haaland’s views will hurt the Montana way of life and kill Montana jobs. We must consider the impact she will have on the West and our entire country.

— Steve Daines (@SteveDaines) March 9, 2021

Daines is apparently unaware of what the job of the Secretary of the Interior is. Under Republican administrations, especially Donald Trump’s, Interior Secretaries stole resources from federal lands and gave them to corporations. The job of the Secretary of the Interior is to protect these vast natural resources.

I will be forcing debate on Rep. Haaland’s nomination to @Interior.

Her record is clear: she opposes pipelines & fossil fuels, ignores science when it comes to wildlife management & wants to ban trapping on public lands.

— Steve Daines (@SteveDaines) March 9, 2021

From day one Sen. Daines has made clear his opposition to Haaland.

“I’m deeply concerned with the Congresswoman’s support on several radical issues that will hurt Montana, our way of life, our jobs and rural America, including her support for the Green New Deal and President Biden’s oil and gas moratorium, as well as her opposition to the Keystone XL pipeline,” Daines said in a statement in early February, as HuffPost reported.

During her confirmation hearing Daines attacked Haaland for two tweets she posted correctly pointing out that the GOP is anti-science, as is the Senator from Montana. Daines is also anti-LGBTQ, a climate change denier, believes evolution should not be taught in public schools, and supports far right and hate groups, including Turning Point USA and the Family Research Council. He also supported President Donald Trump’s racism and misogyny.

Daines then asked Haaland to “retract” her statement that “Republicans don’t believe in science.”

Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT) asks Interior Secretary nominee Rep. Deb Haaland to consider “retracting” her tweet saying “Republicans don’t believe in science.” pic.twitter.com/egTyYJH4tB

— The Recount (@therecount) February 24, 2021

Image via Deb Haaland/Twitter