The Deputy Secretary of the Interior, in the United States government, advises and assists the Secretary of the Interior in the supervision and direction of the Department of the Interior and its activities, and succeeds the Secretary in his or her absence, sickness, or unavailability. The Deputy Secretary of the Interior is appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate. In 1990, the title of the position was changed from Under Secretary of the Interior to Deputy Secretary of the Interior.
President Obama nominated David Hayes to be the Deputy Secretary. He was confirmed on May 20, 2009.
With the resignation Secretary Gale Norton announced March 10, 2006, effective at the end of March, Lynn Scarlett became the Acting Secretary of the Interior until President George W. Bush's nomination for Secretary, Dirk Kempthorne, was confirmed by the United States Senate on May 26 of that year.
Section 3346 of U.S. Code within Title 5, or 5 U.S.C. ยง 3346, details time limitations of acting officers. An acting officer may serve no longer than 210 days after the vacancy, from the date a first or second nomination is pending before the Senate, the date a first or second nomination is withdrawn, rejected, or returned, or the date the Senate reconvenes if the appointment has taken place while Congress has adjourned sine die.
Famous quotes containing the words united states, united, states, deputy, secretary and/or interior:
“So here they are, the dog-faced soldiers, the regulars, the fifty-cents-a-day professionals riding the outposts of the nation, from Fort Reno to Fort Apache, from Sheridan to Stark. They were all the same. Men in dirty-shirt blue and only a cold page in the history books to mark their passing. But wherever they rode and whatever they fought for, that place became the United States.”
—Frank S. Nugent (1908–1965)
“Madam, I may be President of the United States, but my private life is nobody’s damn business.”
—Chester A. Arthur (1829–1886)
“I would like to be the first ambassador to the United States from the United States.”
—Barbara Mikulski (b. 1936)
“Not all the water in the rough rude sea
Can wash the balm off from an anointed king;
The breath of worldly men cannot depose
The deputy elected by the Lord.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)
“The truth is, the whole administration under Roosevelt was demoralized by the system of dealing directly with subordinates. It was obviated in the State Department and the War Department under [Secretary of State Elihu] Root and me [Taft was the Secretary of War], because we simply ignored the interference and went on as we chose.... The subordinates gained nothing by his assumption of authority, but it was not so in the other departments.”
—William Howard Taft (1857–1930)
“When the delicious beauty of lineaments loses its power, it is because a more delicious beauty has appeared; that an interior and durable form has been disclosed.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)