lujan, manuel
<font size="4" face="Times New Roman">=</font><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">nominated mccloskey</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">=</font></div><div><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>Manuel Archibald Lujan Jr.</b> (May 12, 1928 – April 25, 2019) was an American politician from <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Mexico" title="New Mexico" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">New Mexico</a> who served in the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S.House_of_Representatives" class="mw-redirect" title="U.S. House of Representatives" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">U.S. House of Representatives</a> as a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republican_Party(United_States)" title="Republican Party (United States)" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Republican</a> from 1969 to 1989 and as the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Secretary_of_the_Interior" title="United States Secretary of the Interior" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">United States Secretary of the Interior</a> from 1989 to 1993. He was a colleague of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_H.W.Bush" title="George H. W. Bush" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">George H. W. Bush</a> in the House from 1969 to 1971. In 1989, President Bush named Lujan to his Cabinet.</font></p><div id="toc" class="toc" role="navigation" aria-labelledby="mw-toc-heading" style="border: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); background-color: rgb(248, 249, 250); padding: 7px; display: table;"><ul style="list-style: none; margin: 0.3em 0px; padding: 0px;"><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-1" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manuel_Lujan_Jr.#Early_life_and_education" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em;" /><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;">Early life and education</span></font></a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-2" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manuel_Lujan_Jr.#Career" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em;">2</span><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;">Career</span></font></a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-3" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manuel_Lujan_Jr.#Congress" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em;">3</span><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;">Congress</span></font></a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-4" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manuel_Lujan_Jr.#Secretary_of_the_Interior(1989%E2%80%931993)" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em;">4</span><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;">Secretary of the Interior (1989–1993)</span></font></a><ul style="list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 2em; padding: 0px;"><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-5" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manuel_Lujan_Jr.#Early_tenure" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em;">4.1</span><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;">Early tenure</span></font></a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-6" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manuel_Lujan_Jr.#Offshore_oil_drilling" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em;">4.2</span><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;">Offshore oil drilling</span></font></a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-7" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manuel_Lujan_Jr.#Endangered_Species_Act" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em;">4.3</span><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;">Endangered Species Act</span></font></a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-8" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manuel_Lujan_Jr.#1992%E2%80%931993" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em;">4.4</span><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;">1992–1993</span></font></a></li></ul></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-9" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manuel_Lujan_Jr.#Post-Washington_days" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em;">5</span><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;">Post-Washington days</span></font></a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-10" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manuel_Lujan_Jr.#Personal_life" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em;">6</span><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;">Personal life</span></font></a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-11" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manuel_Lujan_Jr.#References" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em;">7</span><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;">References</span></font></a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-12" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manuel_Lujan_Jr.#See_also" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em;">8</span><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;">See also</span></font></a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-13" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manuel_Lujan_Jr.#Notes" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em;">9</span><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;">Notes</span></font></a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-14" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manuel_Lujan_Jr.#References_2" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em;">10</span><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;">References</span></font></a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-15" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manuel_Lujan_Jr.#External_links" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em;">11</span><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;">External links</span></font></a></li></ul></div><h2 style="margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px; overflow: hidden; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.3; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="mw-headline" id="Early_life_and_education">Early life and education</span><span class="mw-editsection" style="user-select: none; margin-left: 1em; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1em; unicode-bidi: isolate; margin-right: 0px;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="margin-right: 0.25em;">[</span></span></font></h2><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Lujan was born in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Ildefonso_Pueblo,New_Mexico" title="San Ildefonso Pueblo, New Mexico" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">San Ildefonso Pueblo, New Mexico</a>, into the family of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manuel_Lujan_Sr." title="Manuel Lujan Sr." style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Manuel A. Lujan Sr.</a> and Lorenzita (Romero) Lujan. His father served as mayor of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Fe,New_Mexico" title="Santa Fe, New Mexico" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Santa Fe</a> and was an unsuccessful candidate for governor and Congress. Lujan attended Catholic schools in Santa Fe. He attended <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Mary%27s_College_of_California" title="Saint Mary's College of California" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Saint Mary's College of California</a> in 1946, and graduated from the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Fe_University_of_Art_and_Design" title="Santa Fe University of Art and Design" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">St. Michael's College</a> in Santa Fe in 1950.<sup id="cite_ref-1" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manuel_Lujan_Jr.#cite_note-1" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[1]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-2" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manuel_Lujan_Jr.#cite_note-2" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[a]</a></sup></font></p><h2 style="margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px; overflow: hidden; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.3; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="mw-headline" id="Career">Career</span><span class="mw-editsection" style="user-select: none; margin-left: 1em; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1em; unicode-bidi: isolate; margin-right: 0px;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="margin-right: 0.25em;">[</span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Manuel_Lujan_Jr.&action=edit§ion=2" title="Edit section: Career" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none; white-space: nowrap;">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="margin-left: 0.25em;">]</span></span></font></h2><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">After college, Lujan went to work for the family insurance company, the Manuel Lujan Agencies, which his father had opened in 1925. The <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albuquerque" class="mw-redirect" title="Albuquerque" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Albuquerque</a>-based company remains a leading risk management and insurance firm; in 2002, it was ranked as the most profitable of New Mexico's Hispanic-owned businesses.</font></p><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Lujan also followed his father into politics, launching his first campaign with a failed bid for the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Mexico_State_Senate" class="mw-redirect" title="New Mexico State Senate" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">New Mexico State Senate</a> in 1964. Three years later, he helped to found the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republican_National_Hispanic_Assembly" title="Republican National Hispanic Assembly" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Republican National Hispanic Assembly</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-3" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manuel_Lujan_Jr.#cite_note-3" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[2]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-4" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manuel_Lujan_Jr.#cite_note-4" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[3]</a></sup> Lujan's failed 1964 bid for political office was the last electoral defeat for him; after defeating incumbent Rep. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_G.Morris" title="Thomas G. Morris" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Thomas G. Morris</a> in 1968, he served in Congress for the next two decades.</font></p><h2 style="margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px; overflow: hidden; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.3; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="mw-headline" id="Congress">Congress</span><span class="mw-editsection" style="user-select: none; margin-left: 1em; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1em; unicode-bidi: isolate; margin-right: 0px;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="margin-right: 0.25em;">[</span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Manuel_Lujan_Jr.&action=edit§ion=3" title="Edit section: Congress" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none; white-space: nowrap;">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="margin-left: 0.25em;">]</span></span></font></h2><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Throughout the 1970s, Lujan sailed to reelection and built a reputation as a low-key, personable <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Backbencher" title="Backbencher" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">backbencher</a>. His legislative interests were largely in line with the western U.S. states priorities of the time, including Indian affairs, <b><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_power" title="Nuclear power" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">nuclear power</a> expansion</b>, and the opening of federal lands to commerce and recreation. In 1978, Lujan was the first Hispanic Republican to join the recently formed <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Congressional_Hispanic_Caucus" title="Congressional Hispanic Caucus" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Congressional Hispanic Caucus</a>.</font></p><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The 1980s brought new challenges and new prominence for Lujan. He nearly lost his seat in 1980 to an unexpectedly strong challenge from Democrat <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Richardson" title="Bill Richardson" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Bill Richardson</a>. In the reapportionment that followed, Lujan's district was significantly altered after New Mexico picked up a third district. The old 1st was a largely rural district that included the northeastern portion of the state, including most of Albuquerque. The new 1st was a much more compact and urban district that included three-fourths of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albuquerque" class="mw-redirect" title="Albuquerque" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Albuquerque</a>.</font></p><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Due to the new demographics of his district, Lujan stood down as ranking Republican of the House Interior and Insular Affairs Committee and became ranking Republican of the House Science, Space and Technology Committee.</font></p><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In addition to his congressional duties, Lujan represented New Mexico as a delegate to every <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republican_National_Convention" title="Republican National Convention" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Republican National Convention</a> from 1972 to 2004. In 1980, he was a featured speaker at the convention on the night delegates met to nominate a vice presidential candidate.</font></p><h2 style="margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px; overflow: hidden; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.3; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span id="Secretary_of_the_Interior.281989.E2.80.931993.29" /><span class="mw-headline" id="Secretary_of_the_Interior(1989–1993)">Secretary of the Interior (1989–1993)</span><span class="mw-editsection" style="user-select: none; margin-left: 1em; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1em; unicode-bidi: isolate; margin-right: 0px;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="margin-right: 0.25em;">[</span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Manuel_Lujan_Jr.&action=edit§ion=4" title="Edit section: Secretary of the Interior (1989–1993)" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none; white-space: nowrap;">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="margin-left: 0.25em;">]</span></span></font></h2><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style=""><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Beginning with <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ronald_Reagan" title="Ronald Reagan" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">Ronald Reagan</a>'s inauguration in 1981, Lujan was often mentioned as a potential nominee for <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Secretary_of_the_Interior" title="United States Secretary of the Interior" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">Interior Secretary</a>. Along with <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dick_Cheney" title="Dick Cheney" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">Dick Cheney</a>, he was one of the top contenders to replace <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_G.Watt" title="James G. Watt" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">James G. Watt</a> following his resignation, although the position eventually went to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_P.Clark_Jr." title="William P. Clark Jr." style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">William Clark</a></span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">.</span></font></p><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style=""><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">When the Bush transition team approached Lujan about the job in late 1988, he declined to accept it – but changed his mind only after a personal appeal from the president-elect. After the tenure of James Watt and </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Hodel" class="mw-redirect" title="Donald Hodel" style="background: none; text-decoration-line: none;">Donald Hodel</a><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">, Lujan was widely regarded as a moderate at the time of his unanimous confirmation in February 1989.</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"> His nomination faced little opposition, although some environmental groups criticized his congressional voting record (the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/League_of_Conservation_Voters" title="League of Conservation Voters" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">League of Conservation Voters</a> gave Lujan a 23 percent career rating).</span></font></p><h3 style="margin: 0.3em 0px 0px; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 1.6; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="mw-headline" id="Early_tenure">Early tenure</span><span class="mw-editsection" style="user-select: none; font-weight: normal; margin-left: 1em; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1em; unicode-bidi: isolate; margin-right: 0px;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="margin-right: 0.25em;">[</span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Manuel_Lujan_Jr.&action=edit§ion=5" title="Edit section: Early tenure" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none; white-space: nowrap;">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="margin-left: 0.25em;">]</span></span></font></h3><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Just months into his term, Lujan came under criticism from conservationists and the media for his hands-off approach to policy and his gaffe-prone speeches. In one oft-quoted error, he told a reporter that the federal government received royalty payments for certain mineral rights — only to later admit "I didn't know what I was talking about."</font></p><h3 style="margin: 0.3em 0px 0px; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 1.6; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="mw-headline" id="Offshore_oil_drilling">Offshore oil drilling</span><span class="mw-editsection" style="user-select: none; font-weight: normal; margin-left: 1em; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1em; unicode-bidi: isolate; margin-right: 0px;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="margin-right: 0.25em;">[</span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Manuel_Lujan_Jr.&action=edit§ion=6" title="Edit section: Offshore oil drilling" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none; white-space: nowrap;">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="margin-left: 0.25em;">]</span></span></font></h3><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style=""><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">As the chairman of a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_House" title="White House" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">White House</a> task force studying offshore oil drilling, Lujan expressed his strong support for drilling off the California coast</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> in a speech to western governors. Nineteen members of the California congressional delegation—all Democrats—and Republican </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Governor" title="Governor" style="background: none; text-decoration-line: none;">Governor</a><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pete_Wilson" title="Pete Wilson" style="background: none; text-decoration-line: none;">Pete Wilson</a><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> called for Lujan to resign from the study group because he was prejudiced to one point of view but Lujan declined to step down from the post.</span></font></p><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>As the administration point man on offshore drilling, he opposed Democratic efforts to halt the practice after the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exxon_Valdez_oil_spill" title="Exxon Valdez oil spill" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Exxon Valdez oil spill</a> in April 1989.</b></font></p><h3 style="margin: 0.3em 0px 0px; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 1.6; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="mw-headline" id="Endangered_Species_Act">Endangered Species Act</span><span class="mw-editsection" style="user-select: none; font-weight: normal; margin-left: 1em; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1em; unicode-bidi: isolate; margin-right: 0px;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="margin-right: 0.25em;">[</span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Manuel_Lujan_Jr.&action=edit§ion=7" title="Edit section: Endangered Species Act" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none; white-space: nowrap;">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="margin-left: 0.25em;">]</span></span></font></h3><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Although Lujan gained more respect throughout his term, he remained a lightning rod for environmentalists. In a 1990 interview, Lujan described the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endangered_Species_Act" class="mw-redirect" title="Endangered Species Act" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Endangered Species Act</a> as "too tough,"<sup id="cite_ref-5" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manuel_Lujan_Jr.#cite_note-5" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[4]</a></sup> and said it may not be necessary to "save every subspecies." The Bush administration distanced itself from Lujan's position at time when newspapers had just begun to write about the Interior Secretary's rebound from earlier public relations woes.</font></p><h3 style="margin: 0.3em 0px 0px; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 1.6; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span id="1992.E2.80.931993" /><span class="mw-headline" id="1992–1993">1992–1993</span><span class="mw-editsection" style="user-select: none; font-weight: normal; margin-left: 1em; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1em; unicode-bidi: isolate; margin-right: 0px;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="margin-right: 0.25em;">[</span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Manuel_Lujan_Jr.&action=edit§ion=8" title="Edit section: 1992–1993" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none; white-space: nowrap;">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="margin-left: 0.25em;">]</span></span></font></h3><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Other notable events of Lujan's term included frequent debates over the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spotted_owl" title="Spotted owl" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">spotted owl</a>, the construction of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington_Football_Team" class="mw-redirect" title="Washington Football Team" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Washington Football Team</a> stadium on federal property in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington,D.C." title="Washington, D.C." style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Washington, D.C.</a>, and the increased regulation of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_casinos" class="mw-redirect" title="Indian casinos" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Indian casinos</a>. Lujan generally won praise for his handling of Indian affairs, an interest he had pursued earlier while in Congress.</font></p><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">After leaving the Interior Department at the expiration of Bush's term, Lujan characterized his job as one of constant tensions. "No one is satisfied. If you do something that's pro-development, you get the environmental groups against you, and if you do something that's pro-environmental you get the industry groups after you," Lujan said in a May 9, 1993 <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Associated_Press" title="Associated Press" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Associated Press</a> report. "What I tried to do—and I think I was successful in doing—was to bring a balance between the use of resources on public lands and environmental concerns."</font></p><h2 style="margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px; overflow: hidden; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.3; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="mw-headline" id="Post-Washington_days">Post-Washington days</span><span class="mw-editsection" style="user-select: none; margin-left: 1em; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1em; unicode-bidi: isolate; margin-right: 0px;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="margin-right: 0.25em;">[</span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Manuel_Lujan_Jr.&action=edit§ion=9" title="Edit section: Post-Washington days" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none; white-space: nowrap;">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="margin-left: 0.25em;">]</span></span></font></h2><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In the waning months of his term, Lujan was frequently named as a likely candidate for <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Governor_of_New_Mexico" title="Governor of New Mexico" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Governor of New Mexico</a> in 1994. He moved quickly to squelch the rumors, saying he was "through running."</font></p><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">After leaving office, Lujan worked as a lobbyist and a public speaker. In 2004, he launched the Hispanic Alliance for Progress Institute, a conservative think-tank focusing on economic and "family values" issues from a Hispanic perspective.</font></p><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Lujan's tenure at the Interior Department has since been commemorated with an award in his honor. Each year, the department presents the "Manuel Lujan Jr. Champion Award" to employees who exhibit "outstanding work in carrying out the department's mission." In addition, the Department and its <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bureau_of_Indian_Affairs" title="Bureau of Indian Affairs" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Bureau of Indian Affairs</a> honored Lujan by dedicating the BIA's administrative building in Albuquerque with Lujan's name.<sup id="cite_ref-6" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manuel_Lujan_Jr.#cite_note-6" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[5]</a></sup></font></p><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Lujan's brother Edward (b. 1931) served as the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Mexico_Republican_Party" class="mw-redirect" title="New Mexico Republican Party" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">New Mexico Republican Party</a> chairman for many years and was a major influence to the development of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Hispanic_Cultural_Center" title="National Hispanic Cultural Center" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">National Hispanic Cultural Center</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-7" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manuel_Lujan_Jr.#cite_note-7" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[6]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-8" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manuel_Lujan_Jr.#cite_note-8" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[7]</a></sup> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michelle_Lujan_Grisham" title="Michelle Lujan Grisham" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Michelle Lujan Grisham</a>, a Democrat who served three terms in Congress representing New Mexico's 1st District, elected state's governor in November 2018 is not related.<sup id="cite_ref-9" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manuel_Lujan_Jr.#cite_note-9" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[8]</a></sup></font></p><h2 style="margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px; overflow: hidden; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.3; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="mw-headline" id="Personal_life">Personal life</span><span class="mw-editsection" style="user-select: none; margin-left: 1em; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1em; unicode-bidi: isolate; margin-right: 0px;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="margin-right: 0.25em;">[</span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Manuel_Lujan_Jr.&action=edit§ion=10" title="Edit section: Personal life" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none; white-space: nowrap;">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="margin-left: 0.25em;">]</span></span></font></h2><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Lujan died of heart failure on April 25, 2019 in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albuquerque,New_Mexico" title="Albuquerque, New Mexico" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Albuquerque, New Mexico</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-10" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manuel_Lujan_Jr.#cite_note-10" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[9]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-11" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manuel_Lujan_Jr.#cite_note-11" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[10]</a></sup></font></p></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">===</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1989/05/15/bush-cabinets-weak-link-affable-gaffe-prone-lujan/5652d322-2f95-451c-a6ab-a0e1399a3684/</font><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><section id="top-content" class="col-lg-12 col-md-12 col-sm-10 col-xs-10 col-xs-offset-1 col-sm-offset-1 col-md-offset-0 col-lg-offset-0 layout" style="box-sizing: border-box; position: relative; min-height: 1px; float: left; width: 1266.39px; margin-left: 0px; margin-bottom: 40px; line-height: 20px; padding: 0px !important; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(213, 213, 213) !important;"><div class="moat-trackable pb-f-theme-normal full pb-feature pb-layout-item pb-f-article-article-topper" moat-id="article/article-topper|politics" data-chain-name="no-name" data-feature-name="no-name" data-feature-id="article/article-topper" id="fKYQci2omDCYRp" style="box-sizing: border-box; border-bottom: none; float: left; width: 1266.39px; padding: 10px 0px 5px !important; position: relative;"><div class="border-bottom-off border-bottom-" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><div id="article-topper" class="article-topper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; max-width: 1440px;"><div style="box-sizing: border-box;"><div id="topper-headline-wrapper" class="col-xs-12 col-sm-12 col-lg-12" style="box-sizing: border-box; position: relative; min-height: 1px; padding-right: 10px; padding-left: 0px; float: left; width: 1266.39px;"><h1 data-pb-field="customFields.web_headline" itemprop="headline" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 60px; display: inline-block; word-spacing: -0.02em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">BUSH CABINET'S WEAK LINK AFFABLE, GAFFE-PRONE LUJAN</font></h1></div></div><div class="clear" style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: both;" /><div class="pb-container" style="box-sizing: border-box; width: 1266.39px; max-width: 1440px !important; margin: 0px auto !important; clear: both !important;" /></div></div></div></section><section id="main-content" class="col-xl-9 col-lg-8 col-md-8 col-sm-12 col-xs-12 col-xs-offset-0 col-sm-offset-0 col-md-offset-0 col-lg-offset-0 layout" style="box-sizing: border-box; position: relative; min-height: 1px; padding-right: 105.531px; float: left; width: 949.781px; margin-left: 0px; border-right: none; margin-bottom: 1.875rem; line-height: 20px; padding-left: 0px !important; padding-top: 0px !important; padding-bottom: 0px !important; background-image: url(" img.washingtonpost.com="img.washingtonpost.com" pb="pb" resources="resources" img="img" spacer-gray.png="spacer-gray.png" background-position="background-position" center="center" background-repeat="background-repeat" repeat-y="repeat-y"><div class="moat-trackable pb-f-theme-normal full pb-feature pb-layout-item pb-f-article-article-deck" moat-id="article/article-deck|politics" data-chain-name="no-name" data-feature-name="no-name" data-feature-id="article/article-deck" id="fJZx8f1omDCYRp" style="box-sizing: border-box; float: left; width: 844.25px; position: relative; padding: 0px !important;"><div id="article-deck" class="article-deck" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><div class="clear" style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: both;"><div class="moat-trackable pb-f-theme-normal full pb-feature pb-layout-item pb-f-article-article-body" moat-id="article/article-body|politics" data-chain-name="no-name" data-feature-name="no-name" data-feature-id="article/article-body" id="f8MNxk1omDCYRp" style="box-sizing: border-box; border-bottom: none; border-right: 0px; float: left; width: 844.25px; position: relative; padding: 0px !important;"><div id="pb-article-body-author-modals" style="box-sizing: border-box; position: relative; z-index: 5;"><div id="article-body" class="article-body" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0px; text-shadow: rgb(255, 255, 255) 0px 1px 0px; position: relative; overflow: visible; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; max-width: 1440px;"><div class="pb-sig-line hasnt-headshot has-0-headshots hasnt-bio is-not-column" style="box-sizing: border-box; padding-bottom: 25px; line-height: 1.1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="pb-byline" itemprop="author" itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Person" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-block; padding-right: 5px;">By <span itemprop="name" style="box-sizing: border-box;">Cass Peterson</span></span> <span class="pb-timestamp" itemprop="datePublished" content="1989-05-15T12:00-500" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1.1em; white-space: nowrap; padding-right: 5px; display: inline-block;">May 15, 1989</span></font></div><article style="box-sizing: border-box;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.8em; margin: 0px auto 18px; max-width: 100%;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="">Sitting in the wood-paneled grandeur of the interior secretary's office, with a fire crackling in the hearth, Manuel Lujan Jr. is proof that all things come to him who waits. Three times during the Reagan administration, Lujan was mentioned as a leading candidate for the job of overseeing the more than 300 million acres of federal land and guarding the nation's natural resources. Three times he lost out to candidates with better credentials or better connections. When President Bush finally chose him for the job in December, the 20-year House veteran from New Mexico had given up his congressional seat and had all but packed his bags for home. Comes now the question of whether the wait was worth it. After three months in office, Lujan has forged the unenviable position of weakest link in the Bush Cabinet, under fire from both friend and foe for failing to set clear policy directions at a department that came to symbolize the ideological excesses of the Reagan administration. Still largely staffed by Reagan holdovers, who will remain until their replacements are confirmed and sworn in, the Interior Department continues to pursue the pro-development policies of the previous administration. But senior officials complain that the department's efforts are mostly reflexive, directed by subordinates to former secretary Donald Hodel and carried out in a leadership vacuum that Lujan and a handful of aides, brought from Capitol Hill, have yet to fill. "It's like there is nobody here," said one official. In a recent interview, Lujan acknowledged that he has mapped no new roads for the department. "It's a question of attitude," he said. "The department feels the attitude of a kinder, gentler nation. We have to take care of things -- the land, all of these things -- and get along with each other better." Buoyed by Bush's vow to be an "environmental president," conservationists initially welcomed the appointment of Lujan, a genial, kindly man with a predilection for compromise and years of experience as a senior Republican on the House Interior and Insular Affairs Committee. But in recent weeks, even his allies have been startled at his seeming inability to grasp the basic facts of the department's business. At a recent session with reporters, Lujan insisted incorrectly that the government gets royalty payments from minerals on federal land that had been sold to claim holders under a 127-year-old law. Told of the error, he responded: "We don't get any money? I didn't know what I was talking about." The land sales have been a hot controversy at Interior for years. Some of the claims are in New Mexico. In New Orleans for a meeting of the Petroleum Club, Lujan stunned his audience by confessing he initially thought Louisiana could solve its critical coastal erosion problem by strewing the shoreline with rocks. "Someone explained to me that was not possible," he said. Louisiana, which is losing 30 to 50 square miles of marsh a year to industrialization, has 7,000 miles of shoreline. At an early session with conservation groups, Lujan created a stir when he referred to the Bureau of Land Management's millions of acres as "a place with a lot of grass for cows" and indicated that he favored opening national parks to grazing. In the interview last week, Lujan said he thinks that Alaska, rather than the federal government, should have been given the lead role in regulating oil development and transportation in the state, because "they have the most to lose." Asked whether the same should apply to California, which is bitterly fighting Interior's efforts to expand offshore drilling, Lujan paused before responding: "Well, I walked into that one, didn't I?" The gaffes have led some conservationists and industry representatives to conclude that Lujan has not been adequately briefed on the controversies that surround his department. But his performance is already causing some political pain to the White House at a time when the oil spill in Alaska and a furor over U.S. policies on global warming have thrust environmental issues into the spotlight. The Wall Street Journal recently referred to Lujan as one of the Cabinet's "dimmer lights." In the West, where state politics and economies rise and fall on Interior policies, the Los Angeles Times stated flatly in an editorial that Lujan was "in over his head." "It's a real disappointment, but it's a symptom of the entire administration," said one leading conservationist who supported Lujan's nomination. "There is no focus. He has no sense of where he wants to take Interior." His allies contend that it is too soon to judge Lujan's performance. "I don't have any concern about his capabilities, but he has to have key people in key places," said former New Mexico governor Jerry Apodaca, a Democrat and close friend. "He feels comfortable in the position. He feels he is as knowledgeable as anyone can be. He believes he can stand toe-to-toe with any of them {fellow Cabinet members} and not be overwhelmed. He's on top of it." On Capitol Hill, Lujan was known as a low-key legislator with no heavy political agenda, capable of staying on good terms with both sides in the often fractious issues that confronted the House Interior Committee. "He's very affable, warm, a good listener," said one congressional colleague. "He's homespun. He has Reagan qualities." Those were the qualities that won him a job in the Cabinet when the Bush transition team ended up at loggerheads over whether to nominate a moderate Republican -- former senator Daniel J. Evans of Washington was the leading candidate -- or a conservative cast in the mold of former secretaries James G. Watt and Hodel. Conservative Republicans favored former Watt lieutenant Garrey Carruthers, the Republican governor of New Mexico. Carruthers' state, however, was in the midst of a politically tricky reapportionment process that GOP officials thought required his attention. Meanwhile, the appointment of a noted environmentalist, Conservation Foundation president William K. Reilly, as head of the Environmental Protection Agency left conservatives howling for a counterbalance at Interior. Lujan, a conservative westerner, was the obvious choice. Environmentalists considered him accessible and open-minded, despite a voting record that ran strongly counter to their cause. In the last Congress, Lujan voted with conservationists 13 percent of the time -- one of the lowest scores in Congress, according to the League of Conservation Voters. Industry groups trusted his instincts, which are clearly pro-development. In its own analysis of voting records, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce gave Lujan an 80 percent pro-business rating. The clincher may have been Lujan's early endorsement of Bush ("I mean early -- like 1978," said one political colleague), and what administration officials say is Bush's genuine desire to put more minorities into top positions. Lujan was the second Hispanic named to the Cabinet. On Capitol Hill, however, the nomination "took everybody by surprise," said one congressional aide. "He was never viewed as a titan of legislative strategy. He is the product of 20 years of minority status. He never called a hearing, never floor-managed a bill, and now he's in charge of the ranch. Nobody could come up with anything he'd done at all." "Interior wasn't even his major interest," said a former committee colleague. "He gave up his ranking on the Interior Committee to take a spot on the Science and Technology Committee." On the Interior Committee, however, Lujan had broken early with the Reagan administration on a critical issue. After Watt issued three oil and gas leases in the El Capitan Wilderness in New Mexico, Lujan introduced a sweeping resolution to declare a "state of emergency" in the wilderness system, thereby making it off-limits to development. The resolution was eventually watered down. Lujan's colleagues say the resolution was inspired less by environmental concerns than by the kind of old-fashioned politics that made Lujan's one of the safest seats in Congress: constituent services. The proposal to drill in El Capitan infuriated New Mexicans, who inundated Lujan's office with protests. "He took care of personal details," said Apodaca. "We used to kid him that he was the best caseworker we had in New Mexico. It's one of his greatest strengths, but one that perhaps is causing him a problem today." Lujan demonstrated his style immediately after taking office, leaving on a tour of U.S. territories and later visiting Bureau of Indian Affairs schools with Education Secretary Lauro F. Cavazos. The trips reflected his personal interest in how the government handles its role as trustee, but meant he was out of town at a time when several critical decisions at Interior were coming to a head. One of those involved a major interagency conflict over federal water contracts with farmers in the West. The issue was whether the government could renew the 40-year contracts, the first of which had expired, and lock itself into decades of water deliveries without first analyzing the environmental impact. In a dispute with major policy implications, Interior officials were at odds with the EPA, which wanted environmental assessments done and had appealed the matter to the White House Council on Environmental Quality. Before the CEQ could conduct an inquiry, Lujan heeded the advice of Interior solicitor Ralph W. Tarr, a Reagan appointee, and signed the contract. "I felt I had an obligation to sign," Lujan said. EPA officials said Lujan attempted to explain the action to Reilly by pointing out that the issue affected more than just one water contract. "He said this dispute could eventually involve the entire Central Valley Project, and the entire western water system," said a senior EPA official. "Of course, that was our precise argument to CEQ on why the assessments were needed." Congressional colleagues say the episode may have cost Lujan his most important asset -- credibility with Congress. During his confirmation hearing, Lujan had been questioned about the issue and had promised to give the matter a careful review. "Then he signed the contracts without any consultation with Congress," said one colleague. Lujan's rocky start has raised some questions about what role the White House expects him to play in environmental policy. When Bush dispatched a group of top federal officials to Alaska in the wake of an 11 million-gallon oil spill, the Interior Department was conspicuous by its absence. Conservationists found the omission odd, considering that the department is responsible for natural resource protection and is in the midst of a major battle to open one of Alaska's prime wildlife refuges to oil exploration. "It demonstrates that this guy is not a player," said one veteran congressional aide. More telling, according to Interior officials, are the nominees being chosen to fill critical natural-resource jobs in Interior and in other federal agencies. For National Park Service director, Bush named James Ridenour, a former fund-raiser for Vice President Quayle. As director of Indiana's Department of Natural Resources, Ridenour infuriated conservationists by approving more development adjacent to the famed Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore. A former Watt aide, Delos Cy Jamison, has been selected to run the Bureau of Land Management, keeper of hundreds of millions of acres of public lands. And at the Agriculture Department, another former Watt deputy, James E. Cason, has been installed as assistant secretary for natural resources, putting him in charge of the forests he sought to open for oil and gas exploration. Many expect Indiana businessman Frank Bracken, newly nominated as undersecretary, to take over day-to-day operations at Interior, the customary role of the department's No. 2 official. But Interior officials say Lujan's aides have reorganized the chain of command to move the undersecretary out of the way of most major decisions. "On paper, at least, he'll be in charge of P.R., like the Take Pride in America program," said one senior official. Lujan said he is pleased with the way the department is operating, given that the Reagan holdovers were told in advance they all would be replaced soon. "I thought everyone would lay down on the job," he said. "It didn't happen." And although he accepted his Cabinet post with some public reluctance, he said he is willing to stay as long as Bush desires. "One year, four years, eight years," he said. "He's my boss. I do what he says." Such is the power of Lujan's amiability that even his erstwhile opponents hope things will improve. "I hope the niceness and the congeniality will not hurt him as the bureaucratic Washington warlords try to control him and destroy him," said Rep. Bill Richardson (D-N.M.), who once ran unsuccessfully against Lujan. "I wish him well</font></p></article></div></div></div></div></div></div></section></div></div>