Senate confirms Hilary Tompkins for Interior
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Filed Under:
Law
|
Politics
The
Senate confirmed
Hilary
Tompkins to be
Solicitor of the
Interior Department on Wednesday.
Tompkins, a member of the
Navajo Nation, is the first Native American and the first Native woman to hold the post. She will oversee all legal issues, including Indian affairs, for the department.
"I welcome Hilary to our policy team and look forward to her counsel and leadership in helping us fulfill Interior's broad mandate, from managing federal land, water and energy resources, to conserving endangered species, to building a better future for American Indian and Native Alaska communities,"
Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said in a
press release. "She is an outstanding professional with strong legal and managerial skills and will make an excellent Solicitor."
Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Oklahoma), who sits on the
Senate Indian Affairs Committee, was holding up Tompkins. He wanted to make sure she would uphold a federal law that allows guns to be carried in national parks and wildlife refuges in states that allow concealed weapons.
Get the Story:
Senate Confirms N.M. Native
(The Albuquerque Journal 6/18)
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