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This week marks one year since President Biden nominated Laura Daniel-Davis to serve as the Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Land and Minerals Management, a crucial position that oversees oil and gas drilling as well as mining on America’s public lands. Unfortunately, she is the latest in a series of highly-qualified women to have their nominations delayed or killed entirely by Sen. Joe Manchin, the chair of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.
As CWP's Aaron Weiss points out, this pattern has played out from the very beginning of the Biden administration, when Manchin opposed the nomination of Elizabeth Klein for Deputy Secretary of the Interior, followed by Neera Tanden for the Office of Management and Budget, and Cynthia “Winnie” Stachelberg for Interior’s Assistant Secretary for Policy, Management, and Budget.
While Manchin insisted it was inappropriate to play politics with President Trump’s nominees, he has repeatedly played politics with President Biden’s female nominees, especially Laura Daniel-Davis. One year after she was first nominated, Manchin is still holding her nomination, refusing to give her a vote in committee until the Biden administration provides “clarity” on its oil and gas leasing plans.
It remains to be seen whether Manchin will finally give her the deference he showed to so many of President Trump’s nominees, or if he’ll continue his double standard when it comes to delaying action on highly-qualified women nominated by the Biden administration.
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No one seems to understand how much front-line communities have put on the line—our health and lives—just for these polluting companies to profit.”
