The U.S. should allow mining and "critical minerals" exploration on federal public lands and continue the federal coal leasing program, President Joe Biden's nominee for deputy Interior secretary told a committee of receptive Senate Republicans on Thursday. Senators-especially Republicans- on the Energy and Natural Resources Committee largely received Tommy Beaudreau more warmly than Interior Secretary Deb Haaland during her conservation hearing earlier this year. "I hope that if you are confirmed, you can serve as a voice of reason in an administration that is waging an economic war on energy workers in my state and across the country," Sen. John Barraso (R-Wyo.) said at the hearing. Biden picked Beaudreau earlier this month after Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) objected to his first nominee for the job, Elizabeth Klein, because they saw her views as too critical of fossil fuels.
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