US House panel investigates ties between US Interior secretary, environmentalists

Members of the U.S. House Committee on Natural Resources have launched an investigation into ties between Interior Secretary Deb Haaland and an environmental group in her home state that has advocated for stopping oil and gas development. The announcement by Republican Chairman Rep. Bruce Westerman came Monday, just days after Haaland ordered that hundreds of square miles beyond the boundaries of Chaco Culture National Historical Park be withdrawn from oil and gas production for the next 20 years. Some Native American communities consider the area sacred. The committee has requested documents from Haaland related to her interactions with Pueblo Action Alliance and her daughter, who has protested oil and gas development.