Ken Salazar

At 69 years old, Ken Salazar has this physical status:

Kenneth Lee Salazar (born March 2, 1955) is an American politician who served as the 50th United States Secretary of the Interior in the administration of President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013.

A member of the Democratic Party, he previously was a United States Senator from Colorado from 2005 to 2009.

He and Mel Martinez (R-Florida) were the first Hispanic U.S. Senators since 1977; they were joined by Bob Menendez (D-New Jersey) in 2006.

Prior to his election to the U.S. Senate, he served as Attorney General of Colorado from 1999 to 2005. On December 17, 2008, President-elect Obama announced he would nominate Salazar as U.S. Secretary of the Interior.

The environmentalist movement's reaction to this nomination was mixed.

Previously, Salazar supported the nomination of Gale Norton to Secretary of the Interior, President George W. Bush's first appointee who preceded Salazar as Colorado Attorney General.

On January 20, 2009, Salazar was confirmed by unanimous consent in the Senate. On January 16, 2013, it was reported that Salazar planned to resign his post as Secretary of the Interior in March 2013, but his resignation was delayed pending Senate confirmation of his successor, Sally Jewell.

On June 10, 2013 he became a partner in the major international law firm of WilmerHale, and was tasked with opening a Denver office for the firm.

On August 16, 2016, Salazar was appointed to head presidential candidate Hillary Clinton's transition team.

Early life and education

Ken Salazar was born in Alamosa, Colorado, the son of Emma Montoya and Enrique Salazar. His elder brother is former Congressman John Salazar. He grew up near Manassa, in the community of Los Rincones in the San Luis Valley area of south-central Colorado. Salazar attended St. Francis Seminary and Centauri High School in La Jara, graduating in 1973. He later attended Colorado College, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science in 1977, and received his Juris Doctor from the University of Michigan Law School in 1981. Later Salazar was awarded honorary degrees (Doctor of Laws) from Colorado College (1993) and the University of Denver (1999). After graduating, Salazar started private law practice.

Salazar's Hispanic roots trace back to the Hispanos of the Southwestern United States. He has been identified as a Mexican American saying, "I've been taunted, called names—from 'dirty Mexican' to lots of other names—as I was growing up, and even now as a United States Senator."

Source

Career

Salazar became then-governor Roy Romer's chief legal counsel in 1986. Romer appointed him as the head of the Colorado Department of Natural Resources in 1990.

He authored the Great Outdoors Colorado Amendment, which initiated a massive land conservation initiative in which he served as chairman. Salazar also created the Youth in Natural Resources program, giving thousands of Colorado children the opportunity to work and learn about the Colorado's natural resources in public schools. The success of the Great Outdoors Colorado program was a model for President Obama's America's Great Outdoors Initiative's Great Outdoors Initiative, which was designed to establish a 21st-century agenda for conservation and outdoor recreation.

He introduced legislation that required mining and petroleum companies to better protect the surrounding ecosystem, as well as assisting in the construction of Denver's South Platte River Valley, transforming the area from an abandoned wasteland to a burgeoning economic center in his cabinet role.

Salazar returned to private practice in 1994. He was elected state attorney general in 1998 and re-elected to this position in 2002. Under Salazar, police services were reduced, and several new law enforcement entities were developed: the Gang Prosecu Unit, the Environmental Crime Unit, and the General Fugitive Prosecutive Unit, which prosecuted murderers. He also worked to increase consumer protection and anti-fraud legislation, as well as safeguarding children by a new strategy designed to cracking down on sex offenders.

As Colorado Attorney General John Kerry, he was involved in a number of probes, including those into the 1999 Columbine High School massacre. Salazar was given the Certificate of Western Attorneys General Profile in Courage for his service.

Several environmental cleanup cases were pursued around the state during Salazar's tenure. Salazar, a water contamination lawsuit involving the Summitville mine in Rio Grande County, Colorado, helped broker a joint deal in which the federal and state government shared the $5 million settlement proceeds.

Salazar declared his candidacy for the U.S. Senate seat, which had been vacated by retiring Republican Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell in 2004. Salazar sees himself as a moderate, and has taken positions that are in conflict with his party's base. For a few years, he opposed gay rights, but by 2004, he had changed his position. Salazar fell behind to candidate Mike Miles early in the state's caucuses process. Salazar came back to defeat Miles in the Democratic primary, defeating Coors Brewing Company's Pete Coors to win the general election. He took office on January 4, 2005.

Salazar was a leading member of a bipartisan group of senators who authored the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2007, which would have granted a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants and increased funding for border security, but it died in the Senate. Salazar said in a New York Times article that he wanted the new point system to be equitable: "We do not want to create a system that is exclusively for the richest and most educated immigrants."

Salazar was one of 14 moderate senators to reach an agreement on the Democrats' use of the filibuster against judicial nominations on May 23, 2005, effectively ending the Republican leadership's attempts to implement the so-called "nuclear option." The Democrats will retain the ability to filibuster a Bush judicial nominee only in a "extraordinary situation," according to the pact, and the three most conservative Bush appellate court candidates (Janice Rogers Brown, Priscilla Owen, and William Pryor) will vote by the full Senate. Salazar has snuckled with a National Family Organization of national importance, a Colorado-based conservative Christian party of national importance, over his stance on judicial candidates.

Salazar voted against increasing fuel-efficiency requirements (CAFE) for automobiles and trucks in 2005, a vote that the League of Conservation Voters says is anti-environment. Salazar voted against a bill that would abolish tax breaks for ExxonMobil and other major petroleum companies in the same year.

In August 2006, Ken Salazar ran against Ned Lamont in Connecticut, and he endorsed fellow Democratic Senator Joe Lieberman in his primary election against him. Lamont, who was primarily an anti-war candidate, won the primary. Salazar's continued support for Lieberman, who ran as an outsider against Lamont, has ranked in the Democratic Party's anti-war faction.

Salazar voted to end guarantees that restricted offshore oil exploration off the coast of Florida.

Salazar introduced limits on natural gas exploration on the environmentally rich Roan Plateau in western Colorado, which was cosponsored by Colorado Rep. John Salazar and Mark Udall. The bill increased the amount of acreage on the Plateau that was too environmentally sensitive to be drilled for gas.

Salazar served in the Senate to provide health to Rocky Flats workers who became sick after working at Colorado's former nuclear plant. Workers will immediately have medical insurance and compensation as a result of filing individual health records, if necessary.

Salazar was one of just a few Democrats to oppose a bill that would force the United States Army Corps of Engineers to factor global warming when designing water projects in 2007.

Salazar received a 25 percent vote rating by the Humane Society of the United States for 2005–2006, a minus vote rating by the Animal Welfare Institute for 2007, a 60 percent vote rating for 2005–2006, and a zero percent vote ranking on the Animal Welfare Institute Compassion Index. He also approved the Bush administration's relocation of lands in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) for emergency haying in Colorado's Yuma and Phillips Counties. Salazar has an 81 percent lifetime rating from the League of Conservation Voters, with a 97 percent rating for the year 2008.

Salazar resigned from his Senate seat on January 20, 2009, following his Senate nomination to become Secretary of the Interior under President Barack Obama.

Salazar accepted Obama's invitation to serve as the Interior Minister of the Interior as the Secretary of the Interior. By Congress, his appointment had resulted in a Saxbe fix. S.J.Res, a bill passed by Congress on January 7, 2009. President George W. Bush signed it into law, bringing the Secretary of Interior's pay back to the level it was before Salazar took power in January 2009.

Salazar's nomination was confirmed by voice vote on January 20, 2009, shortly after Obama was sworn in as president. Salazar, the Interior Secretary, was in charge of the National Park Service, the Bureau of Land Management, the United States Geological Survey, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and other federal departments that were under management by the Interior Department.

Salazar was one of two Hispanics serving in Obama's Cabinet, as well as Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis of California. Manuel Lujan, Jr., the second Hispanic Interior Secretary, who served from 1989 to 1993 under President George H. W. Bush, was the second in his post.

Salazar, the country's national parks and national monuments, as Secretary of the Department, initiated a large campaign within the Department to ensure that the country's national parks and national monuments were representative of America's ethnic and minority groups. Cesar Chavez, the Buffalo Soldiers, Harriet Tubman, and the Underground Railroad, Fort Monroe, Colorado, and sacred Native American sites like Chimney Rock.

Salazar's strong ties with the coal and mining industries had been criticized by several prominent environmentalist groups. "He [Ken Salazar] is a right-of-center Democrat who often supports industry and large agriculture in debates over global warming, fuel efficiency, and endangered species," Kieran Suckling, executive director of the Center for Biological Diversity, which monitors endangered species and habitats.

Gene Karpinski, President of the League of Conservation Voters, applauded the nomination. "Senator Salazar has campaigned for 'our land, our water, and our people,'" on the eve of his appointment. He has lived up to that promise with a flawless 100% on the 2008 LCV Scorecard. Senator Salazar, a westerner, has hands on experience with land and water conservation, and will restore the Department of Interior's position as the steward of America's public resources. In the coming years, we look forward to working with him to ensure the survival of America's soil, water, and people.

Salazar was one of many Obama Cabinet nominees confirmed in the Senate by a voice vote on January 20, 2009, shortly after Obama's inauguration, although Senate Republicans were supposed to raise concerns about Salazar's views on oil shale development and fracking in environmentally sensitive areas. Salazar was the Interior Minister of the United States, succeeding Dirk Kempthorne, who praised Salazar's appointment.

Bill Ritter, the governor of Colorado, sent Michael Bennet, the Denver Superintendent of Schools, to complete Salazar's term in the Senate, which began in January 2011.

Salazar said on January 23, 2009, he was considering reopening the Statue of Liberty's crown to visitors. Since the September 11, 2001 attacks, the crown has been closed to the public. Salazar said in a tweet, "I hope we can find a way." "It would declare to the world, both literally and literally, that the path to liberty is open to all."

Salazar decided to go forward with the Fish and Wildlife Service's decision to exclude the Rocky Mountain gray wolf from the Endangered Species List in Montana and Idaho, but not Wyoming. At least 30 breeding pairs and at least 300 wolves have been wolves in the northern Rocky Mountains for at least three years in a row, a target that has been surpassed every year since. In Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming, there are currently 95 breeding pairs and 1,600 wolves.) Salazar, a former rancher, has come under fire for this action and a lack of wolves' protection.

Salazar reported on May 9, 2009 that the Endangered Species Act, a Bush-era law that does not require the monitoring of greenhouse gas emissions, was upheld, a decision he pledged to reevaluate when he took office in January. Despite the apparent negative effect global warming has on polar bears, an endangered species, greenhouse gasses cannot be controlled with the ESA, according to the policy states. Salazar said in a conference call that "the single greatest threat to the polar bear is sea ice melting due to climate change." However, the Endangered Species Act "is not the right instrument for us to deal with what is a global problem." Environmentalists and energy organizations including the American Petroleum Institute, several Democrats, and several Republicans condemned the decision. Salazar said in a conference call that the ESA was never meant to be used for climate change enforcement, while dismissing questions about how this situation differs from the Clean Air Act, which is being used by the EPA to regulate emissions.

Following David Souter's departure, Colorado Governor Bill Ritter, as well as state senators Michael Bennet and Mark Udall, wrote a letter to President Obama in May 2009, recommending Salazar be appointed to the Supreme Court. Salazar said on Today that he was not interested and enjoyed his current position. Judge Sonia Sotomayor of the United States Court of Appeals was eventually elected and confirmed.

With Ritter's declaration that he did not seek re-election as governor on January 6, 2010, rumors about a possible Salazar bid this year have arisen. Salazar's brother, John Salazar, told local media that he expected his brother to run for governor. While considering a run for himself, Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper said he'd do everything [he] could] to help him get elected." Both John Kerry's brother and the Obama Administration pushed him to run for governor, but Hickenlooper opposed and endorsed Hickenlooper's campaign.

Ken Salazar approved Cape Wind, the first-ever commercial wind wind operation in public waters, on April 28, 2010, prompting the application process for the first-of-its-kind Atlantic wind energy transmission line.

Salazar was able to develop and implement numerous renewable energy schemes on public lands during his tenure as secretary and was instrumental in the Obama Administration's "all of the above" energy policy.

Secretary Salazar favored rapid, responsible development of renewable energy on America's public lands, including the acceptance of the first-ever solar energy projects on public lands and the creation of the first-ever solar energy roadmap in the West.

The bureau also undertook new surveys to assess and identify innovation and efficiency enhancements during Salazar's tenure to help improve hydropower generation at the Bureau of Reclamation, the country's second-largest hydropower producer.

Since attempting to enforce tighter leasing guidelines and cancel a string of proposed exploration projects in Alaska and elsewhere, he has been subjected to criticism. Salazar has been chastised for his prosecution of the Deepwater Horizon oil leak, both because of his organization's handling of the permitting process for submerging and also because of the way the government handled the aftermath of the disaster.

Salazar was also involved in the most comprehensive offshore oil and gas safety reforms in the United States, updating the government's antiquated and conflicted offshore oil and gas management scheme and approving millions of acres for oil and gas development offshore. Salazar also implemented a new five-year strategy for responsible oil and gas exploration and production in America's offshore waters.

Salazar testified before congress in May 2010 that he had issued a "hit the pause button" order and that no new licenses had been released since the Deepwater Horizon explosion in the Gulf of Mexico. However, a new deepwater well had been operating in the Gulf since April 20, and the Department of Interior under Salazar had "issued licenses for at least seventeen other new offshore oil projects."

Salazar, the interior minister, was the designated survivor of the 2011 State of the Union Address.

Salazar initiated new collaborations between the Department of Interior and American governors to create and revitalize a new generation of urban parks in cities such as New York City, Denver, Chicago, and St. Louis. In addition, the department has established seven new national parks, including Pinnacles National Park in California, and ten new national monuments.

Salazar appeared at the commencement ceremony for the 2012 class at University of Massachusetts Lowell in May 2012.

Salazar asked a question he did not like by a reporter for The Gazette in November 2012 about Salazar's relationship with a hauler who sold wild horses to slaughter plants, "I'll punch you out." Salazar later apologised.

Salazar revealed in January 2013 that he would resign as Interior Minister of the Interior. Sally Jewell, his replacement, was nominated by the Senate on February 6, 2013, and sworn in on April 12, 2013.

Hillary for America chairman John Podesta announced on August 16, 2016, that Secretary Clinton had chosen Salazar to lead her transition team in order to plan for an orderly transition if she were elected as the 45th president of the United States.

Donald Trump defeated Hillary Clinton in the presidency of the United States' race on November 8, 2016, and Ken Salazar was not allowed to lead the White House transition team.

President Joe Biden nominated Salazar to be the next president of the United States on June 15, 2021. Ambassador to Mexico. On July 28, 2021, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee held hearings for his nomination. Salazar's appointment was then accepted by the committee on August 4, 2021. By a voice vote on August 11, 2021, his nomination was confirmed by the US Senate on August 11, 2021. Vice President Kamala Harris formally sworn him in on September 2, 2021. Salazar pretended to President Andrés Manuel López Obrador on September 14, 2021. In July 2022, the New York Times published an article quoting "growing suspicion within the Biden administration that the ambassador may have actually harmed US interests" and that the ambassador had been too close to sitting Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador.

Source