The Toughest Job in Government

 I don't read The New Yorker magazine the way I used to.  In most editions I find little of interest these days.  I came across an exception to that trend through a link to a New Yorker story about the Secretary of the Interior, Deb Haaland, who previous to her appointment to Interior was our U.S. congressional representative.  I've been a long-time fan of Haaland since even before attending a great presentation she made at Albuquerque's main library and I was very pleased to have the chance to support her run for the congressional seat.

The long New Yorker piece is a thorough biography of the Secretary , detailing the incredibly difficult job of overseeing an agency that includes responsibility for both the Bureau of Land Management and the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and how her life experience prepared her for those challenges.  The fact that she is the first Interior Secretary with Native American roots is in itself a big step forward for the country, but she has also done good work in regaining some of the ground lost during the Trump years.

Even if Biden holds on for another four years, it seems improbable that Haaland would chose to serve a second term in such a demanding position.  What path she will take after the Interior Dept. is anyone's guess, and probably it is not clear yet to Haaland either. One talked-about possibility would be replace New Mexico's  retiring governor, Michele Lujan Grisham.

To go another step further with that speculation, the two women could even just trade places, as Lujan Grisham was apparently offered the Interior job and turned it down before it went to Haaland.  Of course, at this point it is not clear sailing to that destination regardless of either woman's ambitions.  One possible barrier is the future course that might be chosen by NM Senator Martin Heinrich.  He has vowed to serve out his full term in the Senate, but the possibility of a run for governor is often mentioned by the local press corps.  I suspect the possible competition will be sorted out well before the actual Dem Primary.