U.S. Rep. Debra Haaland (D-NM) was confirmed Monday as secretary of the Department of the Interior in the administration of incoming President Joe Biden. The vote was 51-40 with several senators – including all four from Colorado and Wyoming – prevented from returning to Washington, D.C., to vote because of winter storms in Rocky Mountains and central plains. Haaland, 60, is the first native American to lead a federal cabinet department. She’s a graduate of University of New Mexico who began serving in Congress in 2019.