SALLY JEWELL

A federal judge has reinstated a moratorium on coal leasing from federal lands that was imposed under former President Barack Obama and then scuttled under former President Donald Trump.

The White House is naming a former Obama administration official to be deputy secretary at the Interior Department after dropping plans for a more liberal nominee who faced key Senate opposition.

Klein, who worked at Interior during the Obama administration, was among five women named by then-President-elect Joe Biden to serve as deputy Interior secretaries. But she was never formally nominated and now won't be, a White House spokesman said Tuesday. A spokeswoman for Murkowski said the senator did not support Klein and made that known to the White House. “Alaska’s prosperity is directly linked to decisions made by Interior,'' Murkowski said in announcing her vote for Haaland earlier this month. Beaudreau later served as acting assistant secretary and then chief of staff under former Interior Secretary Sally Jewell.