‘We’re frustrated’: Lawmakers press Indian affairs nominee on key issues

‘We’re frustrated’: Lawmakers press Indian affairs nominee on key issues

Monday, July 21, 2025

By Acee Agoyo

Indianz.Com

WASHINGTON, D.C. —
Long-simmering tensions in the nation’s capital burst into the open at a confirmation hearing for one of Indian Country’s most crucial government positions, one that has been vacant since the start of the Donald Trump administration.

From public safety to public broadcasting, tribal nations stand to lose out on billions of dollars promised to them as part of the federal government’s trust and treaty responsibilities. But lawmakers on both sides of the aisle — Republican and Democrat alike — have felt powerless to stop the setbacks.

“I think we’re frustrated because we know the need,” Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), a Republican who serves as chair of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, said at the confirmation hearing last Thursday.

Third time’s a charm?

Tune into nomination hearing for William “Billy” Kirkland to be Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs at the Department of the Interior. @IndianCommittee hearing scheduled to start at 2:45pm Eastern. https://t.co/UgIfnnkah6 pic.twitter.com/TdL2wFKYIl

— indianz.com (@indianz) July 17, 2025

Just a day prior to the hearing, Murkowski tried to prevent billions of dollars in public broadcasting funds from being cut in the federal budget. Despite her high-ranking position on the powerful Senate Committee on Appropriations and serving in a chamber controlled by her own Republican party, she was unable to do so.

“Yesterday was a pretty tough day. It was, it was hard,” said Murkowski, who pointed out that Native communities in her home state of Alaska are among those who depend on public broadcasting stations to provide them with critical information — especially in their own languages

“There are real funds that help tribal and rural public radio stations,” said Murkowski, citing a 7.3 magnitude earthquake that hit Alaska last Wednesday, prompting warnings about tsunamis and other natural disasters to go out on the airwaves.

“Our subsistence fishermen that are on the rivers right now, out in the ocean in Alaska, they’re all relying on on good, good things coming from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting,” Murkowski told William “Billy” Kirkland, who has been nominated by President Trump to serve as the Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs, a political position at the Department of the Interior, the cabinet agency with the most trust and treaty responsibilities in Indian Country.

Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Washington) cites proposed cuts to public safety at Bureau of Indian Affairs amid indictments of major drug ring that targeted Yakama Nation.

Federal agents seized enough drugs to “kill every member of the Yakama Nation more than eight times over.” pic.twitter.com/vzuHky9mLY

— indianz.com (@indianz) July 17, 2025

Another timely and life-threatening event was cited by Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Washington), a Democrat who previously served as chair of the the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs. Last Monday, tribal, federal and local authorities announced a bust of a major drug trafficking ring that targeted the Yakama Nation and surrounding communities in the Yakima Valley of Washington state.

“It had so much fentanyl, you could have literally killed everybody — [every] member of the Yakama tribe,” Cantwell said of an anti-drug operation that included the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), which Kirkland would oversee should he be confirmed to the post.

Yet Cantwell pointed out that the Trump administration wants to cut the public safety budget at the BIA by 15 percent. She said the agency currently only meets 13 percent of the law enforcement needs in Indian Country.

“How will you fight back against the administration and OMB efforts to shortchange Indian Country?” Cantwell said in reference to the White House Office and Management and Budget, which proposed the cuts in early May.

But perhaps the lawmaker who was most animated about the state of affairs in Washington, D.C., was Sen. Ben Ray Luján (D-New Mexico). He pointed out that the Trump administration is proposing to eliminate funding altogether for a long-awaited water rights project on the New Mexico portion of the Navajo Nation, of which Kirkland said he was a “proud member.”

“Do you know that if this fails, it’d be the first Indian water right settlement to fail in America’s history?” asked Luján.

“No, sir. I was not aware of that,” responded Kirkland, who earlier in the hearing had asserted that “water is vital to life” in response to a Republican lawmaker’s questions about a different tribal settlement in Montana.

“Do you know how much in the president’s budget President Donald Trump allocated for the Navajo-Gallup water project?” Luján continued.

“Not off hand, no, sir,” said Kirkland.

“$0. Is that okay?” Luján inquired.

“I’m sorry?” Kirkland said, indicating he wasn’t aware of the specifics Luján was asking about.

“Is that okay that the budget had $0 for the Navajo Nation water pipeline settlement?” Luján added.

“Sir, if it was … I hope that we can put trillions of dollars into not just the Navajo’s budget, but the Office of Indian Affairs,” Kirkland said as he pivoted to defending Trump’s budget priorities in a more general manner.

“The facts are that our nation is facing a crippling national debt,” added Kirkland.

“I don’t know how to read that,” Luján responded.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) highlights 20 percent reduction in workforce at Department of the Interior and calls fiscal year 2026 budget proposal “unserious at best” as she opens hearing for William “Billy” Kirkland to be Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs. #FY2026

— indianz.com (@indianz) July 17, 2025

Kirkland didn’t seem to have much to offer other lawmakers either when it came to key areas of Indian law and policy. When asked by Cantwell about a tribal safety bill she is co-sponsoring with Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Oklahoma), another member of the committee who attended the hearing, he indicated he wasn’t aware of the details of proposal.

“I look forward to becoming better educated on all legislation that you and your colleagues are prioritizing and specifically on this legislation you speak about,” said Kirkland. “I look forward to learning more about it and working with you and your staff.”

Kirkland likewise did not appear to be aware of an effort to use existing BIA funds to pay for the public broadcasting cuts that Trump celebrated. Murkowski said the Republican president’s administration has already made a “promise” to “reallocate funding from the Department of Interior — from the BIA account — to provide one-time support for tribal public media stations.”

“The concern that I have is that we’re gonna have a situation where you are tasked to find money within the BIA budget to do this temporary funding for these tribal stations for one year,” Murkowski said. “But you’re gonna have to take it out of funds that have already been either obligated, or certainly tribal entities are relying on this.”

“And so we can’t have a situation where it’s robbing Peter to pay Paul,” Murkowski continued.

“I don’t ask you to have a solution, have an answer for me now,” Murkowski added. “Obviously this is all very new. It may or may not be resolved by the time you get through the confirmation process.”

“You never saw Billy Kirkland’s name in the press”: Rep. Brian Jack (R-Georgia) introduces “best friend” as Senate Committee on Indian Affairs finally hears from nominee slated to lead Bureau of Indian Affairs, Bureau of Indian Education & Bureau of Trust Funds Administration. pic.twitter.com/u77U4Par9s

— indianz.com (@indianz) July 17, 2025

Kirkland, who is most known for his work on political campaigns in Georgia, was nominated as the Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs on February 3. Neither the Department of the Interior, nor Secretary Doug Burgum, who leads the cabinet-level agency, has publicly commented about the position.

Kirkland served in the first Trump administration, though he was not known for working in Indian law and policy. In his written statement, he said he would spend the first three months of his job in listening mode.

“If confirmed, I intend to spend my first 90 days listening to tribal leaders and the Congressional committees of jurisdiction to understand top priorities and develop a clear action plan,” Kirkland said in the written document.

At the beginning of the hearing, Murkowski brought up the changes that have impacted Indian Country since January 20. All have occurred without prior notice or tribal consultation — and without a confirmed leader of the BIA.

“The workforce has been drastically reduced — nearly 20 percent, according to the numbers that we have from the department, and the recent budget proposal for Indian affairs programs is unserious at best,” said Murkowski.

“I think we’ve gotta do better,” Murkowski added.

And as the hearing — which lasted less than 90 minutes — came to a close, Murkowski pressed Kirkland to do more than listen. She called on him to speak up for Indian Country and be an advocate for tribes and their communities.

“We care about solving problems, and we need to know your commitment to solving these problems with us,” Murkowski said of the work of the committee and its members.

“And we’re counting on you,” Murkowski continued. “Whether it’s being able to speak directly to the president and capture his heart on this, or wherever it is in that political landscape that’s out there.”

Murkowski did not indicate when the committee might hold a business meeting to review Kirkland’s nomination. But the process has already been subject to delays — the confirmation hearing had originally been scheduled to take place on June 25.

“The hearing was postponed due to scheduling conflicts,” a spokesperson for the committee told Indianz.Com last month.

The hearing was then scheduled for July 16 — only for it to be abruptly postponed again, barely 30 minutes before it was supposed to start. Visitors showed up to Room 628 of the Senate Dirksen Office Building to find a message taped to the door.

“We apologize for any inconvenience this last-minute rescheduling may have caused,” the message stated.

Leaders of the Navajo Nation traveled to Washington, D.C., for the hearing that was to take place last Wednesday. But President Buu Nygren was unable to make it on Thursday because Kirkland said he had to get back to the reservation, which spans the states of Arizona, New Mexico and Utah.

Speaker Crystalyne Curley of the Navajo Nation Council, who is the first woman to lead the tribe’s legislative branch, was able to attend the hearing. “I really appreciate their support,” Kirkland said of Nygren and Curley.

“That means a lot,” said Kirkland, whose parents, two siblings and three children attended the hearing.

Kirkland and his family, along with Nygren and Curley, celebrated his nomination at a reception that took place on Wednesday evening at the Capitol Hill Club, a private social venue for Republicans in D.C.
He said “50-plus” tribal leaders attended.

“We had a great reception at the Capitol Hill Club,” Kirkland said.

The Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs position was created in 1977. A Native person has always held the job — though none so far have hailed from the Navajo Nation, which is one of the two largest federally recognized tribes in the United States.

A total of 13 people have been confirmed by the Senate as Assistant Secretary. The list follows:

• 1977–1980: Forrest Gerard (Blackfeet Nation)

• 1981–1984: Kenneth L. Smith (Warm Springs Tribes)

• 1985–1989: Ross Swimmer (Cherokee Nation)

• 1989–1993: Eddie Frank Brown (Pascua Yaqui Tribe and Tohono O’odham Nation)

• 1993–1997: Ada E. Deer (Menominee Nation)

• 1997–2001: Kevin Gover (Pawnee Nation)

• 2001–2003: Neal A. McCaleb (Chickasaw Nation)

• 2004–2005: Dave Anderson (Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Lake Superior Ojibwe and Choctaw Nation)

• 2007–2008: Carl J. Artman (Oneida Nation)

• 2009–2012: Larry Echo Hawk (Pawnee Nation)

• 2012–2015: Kevin K. Washburn (Chickasaw Nation)

• 2018–2020: Tara Katuk MacLean Sweeney (Iñupiat)

• 2021-2025: Bryan Newland (Bay Mills Indian Community)

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