Udall Rejects Interior Secretary Job Idea

WASHINGTON – Sen. Tom Udall is among those being considered to replace Ken Salazar as secretary of the interior, according to The Washington Post, but Udall suggested Tuesday that he does not want the job.

The New Mexico Democrat said he was “extremely flattered” by the Post’s online report that Salazar himself asked the White House to consider Udall as his replacement. But Udall told the Journal he is looking ahead to his 2014 re-election campaign. His recent appointment to the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee is a factor, as well.

“While I’m deeply flattered to be mentioned, my sights are set on fighting for New Mexico on the Appropriations Committee and earning re-election from the people of our state in 2014,” Udall said in a statement.

Yet another factor that might play into Udall’s resistance to a possible Cabinet nomination is that Republican Gov. Susana Martinez would be in charge of naming his successor, and she would almost certainly select a Republican.

The White House would not comment on the speculation Tuesday, and Washington Post blogger Emily Heil didn’t attribute her report to any particular source.

“We hear Salazar suggested Udall as a potential replacement, and that his name has been sent to the White House for consideration,” Heil wrote.

Heil added that Udall’s profile fits the job description, except for the fact that he’s a white man. Obama has come under fire at the outset of his second term for failing to appoint enough women to Cabinet-level posts.

“He’s (Udall) got a great pedigree, he’s well-liked, and he’s a Westerner, which is considered desirable in that job,” Heil wrote of Udall. “But he’s hardly a lock. The White House is desperately seeking diversity in its Cabinet picks (because the first few nominees were mostly white men), and Udall wouldn’t exactly add to the rainbow.”

Although Udall appears resistant to an appointment, the Interior Department job certainly holds some sentimental appeal for him. Udall’s late father, Stewart, was a legendary environmentalist who served as Interior secretary under Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson.

The Department of the Interior is one of the largest departments in the federal government and includes the National Park Service, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. It is the primary steward of federal lands in the United States and has a heavy presence in New Mexico.
— This article appeared on page C1 of the Albuquerque Journal