Interior deputy secretary nominee Kate MacGregor told lawmakers Wednesday she would focus on increasing offshore drilling, scrutinizing Biden administration actions and addressing the national parks backlog.
MacGregor — an energy industry executive, former congressional aide and veteran of the first Trump administration — told the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee she thought she had “escaped Washington,” but that the chance to improve government drew her back.
“If there’s a federal nexus, there’s a federal official somewhere saying yes or no, or — in the worst case — just not responding,” she said. “What I’ve concluded from outside of D.C. is that the American people, your constituents, deserve better.”
Democrats at MacGregor’s confirmation hearing protested the first weeks of the new administration — from trying to fire tens of thousands of workers to halting grants.
