WASHINGTON — The Senate confirmed the appointment of New Mexico Democratic Congresswoman, Deb Haaland, as Secretary of the Interior on Monday.
Haaland, who is now the first Native American to lead a cabinet agency, was confirmed by a 51-40 vote, while Utah Senators Mike Lee and Mitt Romney voted against Haaland’s appointment.
Romney released a statement regarding his decision to vote against Haaland’s nomination.
“I appreciated the opportunity to meet with Rep. Haaland to discuss several issues of importance to Utah, including the recent temporary suspension of federal energy leases, and concerns regarding the Administration’s intent to assert greater federal control over public lands – both of which would be detrimental to our state,” Sen. Romney said in a news release.
Sen. Romney also said that he discussed the review of Utah monuments Bears and Gran Staircase-Escalante saying he “reiterated the delegation’s preference for a permanent legislative solution that provides certainty and reflects state, local, and tribal input.”
FILE – This May 8, 2017, file photo, shows Arch Canyon within Bears Ears National Monument in Utah. The U.S. government implemented final management plans Thursday for two national monuments in Utah that President Donald Trump downsized. The plans ensure lands previously off-limits to energy development will be open to mining and drilling despite pending lawsuits by conservation, tribal and paleontology groups challenging the constitutionality of the president’s action. (Francisco Kjolseth/The Salt Lake Tribune via AP, File) 
FILE – This May 30, 1997, file photo, shows the varied terrain of Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument near Boulder, Utah. The U.S. government’s final management plan for lands in and around the Utah national monument that President Donald Trump downsized doesn’t include many new protections for the cliffs, canyons, waterfalls and arches found there, but it does include a few more safeguards than were in a proposal issued last year. The Bureau of Land Management’s plan for the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in southwestern Utah codifies that the lands cut out of the monument will be open to mineral extraction such as oil, gas and coal as expected, according to a plan summary the agency provided to The Associated Press. (AP Photo/Douglas C. Pizac, File)
In his first few hours of being in office, President Biden signed an executive order to review the boundaries of Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante monuments.
Utah’s congressional delegation Senators Mike Lee (R-UT) and Mitt Romney (R-UT), Representatives Chris Stewart (R-UT), John Curtis (R-UT), Burgess Owens (R-UT), and Blake Moore (R-UT), as well as state officials Governor Spencer Cox, Attorney General Sean Reyes, Senate President Stuart Adams, and Speaker of the House Brad Wilson then put out the following statement opposing the order:
“For over 25 years, Utah has been the center of controversial and divisive unilateral national monument decisions. Roughly two-thirds of our backyard belongs to the federal government, which has meant land management actions have often been done to us rather than with us. A review in name only with predetermined results, which ultimately leads to a unilateral executive order enlarging the monuments’ boundaries, will not solve the root of the problem and will only deepen divisions in this country.
We share a sincere desire to find a collaborative, broadly supported solution to the political football of national monuments in Utah, specifically Grand Staircase-Escalante and Bears Ears National Monuments. It is imperative that President Biden bring the State of Utah to the table and work with state and local elected leaders toward a consensus product, including a permanent solution approved by Congress.
President Biden championed a message of unity during his campaign, and we stand ready to work across party lines towards a permanent solution.”
Representative Debra Haaland (D-NM) speaks during a House Natural Resources Committee hearing on “The US Park Police Attack on Peaceful Protesters at Lafayette Square”, on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on June 29, 2020. (Photo by Bonnie Cash / POOL / AFP) (Photo by BONNIE CASH/POOL/AFP via Getty Images) 
Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee member Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, speaks during the committee’s business meeting where it will consider new subpoenas in the “Crossfire Hurricane”/Burisma investigation on Capitol Hill, Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2020, in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta) 
Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, speaks during the confirmation hearing for Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett at the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, Monday, Oct. 12, 2020. (Greg Nash/Pool via AP)
Two years ago, President Trump downsized the two monuments, and then last year implemented a new management plan.
Ultimately, Sen. Romney voted against Rep. Haaland’s nomination, saying ““Based on Rep. Haaland’s record and views on land management and energy resources, including her support for radical policies like the Green New Deal, I am not able to support her confirmation to lead the Interior Department.”
