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...

Interior Secretary Deb Haaland struggled Thursday to respond to lawmakers’ questions about Biden administration energy policy, during a Senate hearing.

Haaland appeared before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee to speak about the administration’s 2023 budget proposal. Democratic West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin, the committee’s chairman, and Republicans on the panel proceeded to grill Haaland on gasoline prices and the administration’s hostile approach to oil and gas drilling.

Native American children at the U.S.'s 408 federal Indian boarding schools suffered whippings, sexual abuse, manual labor and severe malnourishment between 1819 and 1969 as part of the American government's campaign to compel their assimilation, according to a report released Wednesday by the Interior Department.

The Senate on Monday voted to confirm Rep. Deb Haaland, D-N.M., as President Joe Biden’s secretary of the Department of the Interior, making the second-term Democrat the first Native American Cabinet secretary in U.S. history.

The vote was 51-40, with four Republicans joining Democrats in favor.

As thousands of Native Americans watched online, Rep. Deb Haaland (D-N.M.) was confirmed as secretary of the Interior Department by a 51-to-40 vote in the Senate, making her the first American Indian to lead an agency that manages a vast portfolio of federal land and the oil and mineral wealth that lies beneath it.

The Senate on Monday confirmed ​Rep. Deb Haaland as interior secretary, making the New Mexico congresswoman the first Native American to lead a Cabinet department.

She was confirmed by a 51-40 vote.

Haaland’s confirmation was hailed by Democrats and tribal groups.

As interior secretary, she will lead a powerful department that routinely deals with the 600 federally recognized tribes.

Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., said Wednesday he'll vote to confirm nominee Deb Haaland to be Interior secretary, a significant boost to her prospects.

In a statement, Manchin said that "while we do not agree on every issue, she reaffirmed her strong commitment to bipartisanship, addressing the diverse needs of our country and maintaining our nation’s energy independence."