Department of Interior Archives

Biden Admin Closes Off More U.S. Lands to Oil and Gas Drilling

June 3, 2023 Minnesota Sun Staff

The Biden administration on Friday ordered a 20-year ban on new oil and gas drilling leases within 10 miles of the Chaco Culture National Historical Park in New Mexico, according to multiple reports.

The moratorium — which the Department of Interior initially began considering in November 2021 — is a long-sought goal of several local politicians, conservation groups and Native American tribes that want to preserve the centuries-old Pueblo ruins located there, although some tribes have opposed the ban for limiting future economic opportunities, according to E&E News.

Biden Admin Ropes in Agriculture, Interior Departments to Help Stem Tide of Migrants Crossing Border

May 17, 2023May 16, 2023 Minnesota Sun Staff

The Biden administration asked several departments and federal agencies, including the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Department of Interior, to support border authorities ahead of the end of Title 42, the Trump-era migrant expulsion order, on May 11, according to an internal memo exclusively obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation.

In addition to deploying Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Defense Department (DOD) personnel to the southern border, the Biden administration also requested the deployment of Department of Justice (DOJ), Department of Agriculture (USDA), Department of Commerce and Department of Interior personnel, according to the Friday memo, which Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Acting Executive Associate Director Katrina Berger sent internally.

Commentary: The Biden Admin Doesn’t Care About Creating Jobs – They Even Say So

May 8, 2023 Admin

Department of Interior Secretary Deb Haaland said the quiet part out loud last week. As the executive of our public lands agency, she does not believe that Americans need jobs because there are already so many jobs available. It’s better to lock up land, and lock down mining because who wants those jobs, when there are so many others?

Before the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, Haaland told Sen. Josh Hawley, “Senator, I know that there’s like 1.9 jobs for every American in the country right now. So, I know there’s a lot of jobs,” which was her explanation for canceling cobalt mining permits for Twin Metals Minnesota, an underground mine proposed for the northeastern part of the state. America won’t need those jobs, she was saying.

Wyoming Governor Sues Biden Administration over Oil and Gas Contract Cancellations

December 4, 2022December 3, 2022 The Center Square

Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon is again taking the Department of Interior to court. The governor has filed a second federal lawsuit against the department relating to a Bureau of Land Management decision to pause oil and gas lease sales. In a statement, the governor called the litigation timely and vital to the interests of people living in his state.

“Wyoming’s energy resources can help power the nation and bring down costs at the pump,” said the governor. “BLM’s decision to cancel lease sales sure seems to be a violation of both the letter and the spirit of the law, (and) I firmly believe the pause in lease sales was politically driven and not based in law or fact.”

Biden Department of Interior Renames 650 Historic Federal Lands

September 12, 2022September 11, 2022 Admin

The Biden Administration’s efforts to rewrite American history continued on Thursday, with the Department of the Interior (DOI) announcing that it would be renaming 650 various monuments, geographical features, and other historic landmarks owned by the federal government.

As reported by Fox News, the new Board on Geographic Names (BOGN) voted on final new names that would replace the names of any federal land featuring the word “Squaw.” The DOI, led by far-left radical Deb Haaland, has repeatedly and falsely claimed that the word is “an offensive ethnic, racial and sexist slur, particularly for Indigenous women.”

Department of Interior to Change Names of over 600 Sites to Remove the Word ‘Squaw’

March 1, 2022 Admin

On Tuesday, the United States Department of Interior (DOI) announced that it would be declaring the term “squaw” to be derogatory, and would rename over 600 historical sites that feature the term.

As reported by CNN, DOI Secretary Deb Haaland first wrote an order back in November declaring that the longtime term “squaw,” which often referred to female Native Americans, was racist and sexist. To this end, Haaland announced the creation of the Names Task Force, consisting of 13 members, for the purpose of coming up with new names for the over 600 sites that included the term in their names.

13 States Sue Biden Administration over Federal Oil and Gas Leasing Ban

March 28, 2021March 27, 2021 Minnesota Sun Staff

A coalition of 13 states sued President Joe Biden’s administration Wednesday over its January ban of new oil and gas leasing on federal lands.

The 13-state coalition argued that President Joe Biden’s Jan. 27 executive order banning new oil and gas leases on federal lands was unlawful, according to the lawsuit filed Wednesday afternoon in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana. Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry announced the lawsuit alongside state lawmakers and energy officials.

“By executive fiat, Joe Biden and his administration have single-handedly driven the price of energy up — costing the American people where it hurts most, in their pocketbooks,” Landry said during a press conference Wednesday. “Biden’s Executive Orders abandon middle-class jobs at a time when America needs them most and put our energy security in the hands of foreign countries, many of whom despise America’s greatness.”

Department of Interior Releases New Footage of Violent Riots in Lafayette Square

June 26, 2020June 25, 2020 Anthony Gockowski

The U.S. Department of the Interior released new footage this week of violent riots outside the White House in Lafayette Square.

President Donald Trump has faced criticism for his decision to clear protesters out of the square on June 1 before he took photos with members of his administration in front of St. John’s Episcopal Church.

Democrats Attack Trump’s Plan to Bring Back Thousands of Federal Workers

January 18, 2019January 17, 2019 Minnesota Sun Staff

by Tim Pearce House Democrats are questioning the legality of a Department of the Interior (DOI) decision to call back thousands of furloughed employees to work on offshore drilling permits. A trio of Democrats sent a letter to the acting Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt Wednesday, alleging that…

Trump Approved the First-Ever US Oil Facility in Arctic Waters

October 26, 2018October 26, 2018 Admin

by Tim Pearce The Department of the Interior approved what could be the first-ever oil and gas production facility in U.S.-controlled Arctic waters Wednesday. Hilcorp Alaska submitted a proposal to build a 9-acre gravel island off the coast of Alaska in the Beaufort Sea. The artificial island, called the Liberty Project,…