Rep. Deb Haaland of New Mexico was confirmed last evening as Secretary of Interior. With her confirmation, she becomes the first Native American to serve as Cabinet Secretary.
Read more about her, her confirmation, and some of the challenges she faces in her new role here, here, and here. She is expected to be sworn in on Wednesday.
Earlier this afternoon, the House adopted by a vote of 220 to 211 H. R. 1319, the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. This is the version that was approved by the Senate last Saturday. The legislation, the highest priority of the new Administration, will now be sent to the White House for President Biden’s signature. The goal of the Biden Administration and the Democratic Congress alike was to get signed into law a new relief package before the enhanced federal unemployment benefits expire at the end of Sunday.
A summary of the provisions of most interest has been compiled by the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities and is available here.