I am committed to working to resolve that issue. Freshman Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., who defeated Slade Gorton in November, was assigned to the committee a few weeks ago. After receiving heavy support from environmentalists and tribes in Washington state during her campaign, Cantwell's questioning of Norton was highly anticipated by environmental groups and tribes across the country. They focused primarily on Norton's stance on tribal sovereignty and Norton reiterated her position and spoke of her personal experience working with tribes. I have a great deal of respect for those tribes and tribes across America.
Tribal sovereignty is important.
The Department of Interior has a trust responsibility and I look forward to working with the tribes. Cited at the hearing were letters of support from the Viejas Tribe in Southern California and the Ute Mountain Ute and Southern Ute tribe in Colorado. We proudly support her nomination and enthusiastically encourage the Senate to approve her nomination. While President Bush had some earlier problems with nominees for his cabinet, including Linda Chavez, who stepped down after revelations she housed an illegal alien, and John Ashcroft, whose conservative stance on abortion and desegregation sparked controversy over his nomination for attorney general, all of Bush's 16 cabinet-level nominees are expected to be confirmed.