White House Drops Interior Nominee Following Murkowski Objections

The White House is withdrawing its planned nomination of Elizabeth Klein to become deputy secretary at the Interior Department amid opposition from Alaska Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski, according to APM.

Instead, Biden is expected to name Tommy Beaudreau, another former Obama-era Interior official, to be deputy secretary, according to two people familiar with the president’s thinking. Beaudreau’s appointment is widely seen as an attempt to win favor from Murkowski. 

Beaudreau  grew up in Alaska and said in a 2013 interview:

“I know how important resource development is to the state. It’s the economic blood of the state. But I also know how important the outdoors are to everyone in Alaska. Everyone in Alaska wants to see that preserved and protected.″