A Native American attorney who oversaw New Mexico’s Indian Affairs Department has been tapped to serve as a top legal adviser to U.S. Department of the Interior Secretary Deb Haaland.
The department announced the appointment of Lynn Trujillo as senior counsel to the secretary Friday.
Trujillo is a tribal member of Sandia Pueblo on the outskirts of Albuquerque and has ties to Acoma and Taos pueblos. Haaland is the first Native American to serve as a U.S. Cabinet secretary.
DEB HAALAND: WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT BIDEN’S SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR NOMINEE
Trujillo worked as a state Cabinet secretary for nearly four years under Democratic New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham as a crucial liaison with Native American communities during the upheaval of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Initiatives during Trujillo’s tenure provided increased funding for local school districts on Native American lands held in trust by the federal government — where property taxes cannot be levied.
BIDEN CHOOSES DEB HAALAND FOR INTERIOR, AOC PRAISES THE ‘PROGRESSIVE’ MOVE
She also promoted the pursuit of justice for missing and murdered Indigenous people across New Mexico and agreements authorizing tribal cannabis programs to spur economic development in Native American communities. New Mexico legalized recreational cannabis sales last year amid concerns about conflicts with federal prohibition.
Trujillo previously worked as a national Native American coordinator at the U.S. Department of Agriculture on its rural development programs and as general counsel to Sandia Pueblo.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Haaland and Trujillo are both graduates of the University of New Mexico School of Law.
New Mexico overlaps with 23 federally recognized Native American communities including large portions of the Navajo Nation.
Author Profile
- The Fox News Channel, abbreviated FNC, commonly known as Fox News, and stylized in all caps, is an American multinational conservative cable news television channel based in New York City. It is owned by Fox News Media, which itself is owned by the Fox Corporation.
Latest entries
- HeadlinesSeptember 20, 2024‘Bachelorette’ finalist Devin Strader addresses past arrest reports: ‘I know that I have made mistakes'
- HeadlinesSeptember 19, 2024Video shows former Dodgers pitcher Julio Urías's domestic violence incident outside MLS match in 2023
- HeadlinesSeptember 19, 2024This New York City pizza has been crowned No. 1 in world, here's why
- HeadlinesSeptember 19, 2024North Korea launches fresh wave of trash balloons toward South Korea