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Currently, the Interior Department is headed by David Bernhardt, a former energy industry lobbyist who has worked in the agency since 2001. Before Bernhardt, Trump had appointed Ryan Zinke to the position.

Under both secretaries, the department has widely expanded the extraction of natural gas and oil.

Zinke left in December 2018 after the agency’s inspector general found he had violated rules by having family members travel with him in government vehicles, that the agency had spent more than $25,000 on security for his vacations to Turkey and Greece, and that he had tried to give his wife a position in the agency.

During his tenure, Politico also reported on Zinke’s role in a development project that involved a foundation headed by his wife and a group backed by the chair of Halliburton.

Haaland was the top pick for interior secretary by the youth climate group Sunrise Movement and the Justice Democrats political action committee, both progressive groups that have expressed disappointment in some of Biden’s other nominees.

News of Haaland’s possible appointment has already been applauded by conservation groups.

“Rep. Haaland’s historic appointment means a new era for protection for our wildlife, public lands and waters from the rapacious extractive industries that have ruled the day under the Trump administration,” Kierán Suckling, executive director of the Center for Biological Diversity, said in a statement. “It’s critical for Native American leaders to be part of all decision-making about public lands, and Haaland’s appointment will ensure that.”

But Haaland’s possible appointment to head the Interior Department could also leave fellow Democrats in the House of Representatives with an even slimmer majority after Biden is sworn on Jan. 20.

Talking to reporters, House Majority Leader Nancy Pelosi called Haaland “one of the most respected and one of the best members of Congress I have served with,” and said she would not stop her possible appointment.

“If she is the president-elect’s choice for interior secretary, then he will have made an excellent choice,” she said.

Biden made another historic pick earlier this week by selecting former primary rival Pete Buttigieg as transportation secretary. If confirmed, he would be the first openly LGBTQ member of a presidential Cabinet.