Sally Jewell, CEO of outdoor equipment retail giant Recreational Equipment Inc., was confirmed by an 87-11 vote in the Senate as the next interior secretary.
Jewell has said she plans to resign from the company upon her confirmation by the Senate, Bloomberg reported Wednesday.
She will succeed Ken Salazar and lead a department of 70,000 employees that manage national parks, 500 million acres of land containing minerals and offshore resource development, Mark Drajem writes.
Reuters reports the Interior Department plays a large role in forming rules to regulate hydraulic fracturing on public lands and drilling for oil and gas in the arctic region.
Jewell joins the Cabinet as the White House is pushing to develop more renewable energy on federal land, according to Reuters.
