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- By Levi Rickert
Amidst the federal partial shutdown, the U.S. Senate on Tuesday voted to confirm William “Billy” Kirkland (Navajo) to serve as the 15th Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs within the U.S. Department of the Interior.
Kirkland was among 100 individuals confirmed by the Senate on Tuesday. The vote came three months after his confirmation hearing before the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs in July and split along party lines, with all Republicans voting in favor.
The Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs oversees the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), Bureau of Indian Education (BIE). and the Bureau of Trust Funds Administration (BTFA), fulfilling the Department of the Interior's trust responsibilities to Native American and Alaska Native tribes.
In a 7-4 decision, the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs voted on September 10, 2025 to advance Kirkland’s nomination to the full Senate.
“I congratulate Billy Kirkland on being confirmed today to be the Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs at Interior. The Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs is one of the most consequential positions for Tribes and Native Americans. He will be charged with carrying out the federal trust responsibility, strengthening the government-to-government relationship and supporting Tribal self-determination. I look forward to working with him as he carries out this important work," Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), chair of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs said after Kirkland's confirmation.
In a statement, the National Congress of American Indians congratulated Kirkland, adding the D.C. nonprofit that lobbies on Capitol Hill for more than 574 federally recognized tribes across Indian Country “looks forward to his swearing in and the important work to follow.”
The position has remained vacant since the start of President Donald Trump’s second term on January 20, 2025. Kirkland was nominated for the role on February 3, 2025.
A citizen of the Navajo Nation, Kirkland has worked on Republican campaigns and political initiatives in his home state of Georgia. While he does not have a deep background in Indian law or policy, he appeared before the committee for a confirmation hearing on July 17, 2025.
During his confirmationa hearing, Kirkland shared memories of his transient childhood, having moved 15 times due to his father's service in the U.S. Army. Despite the constant relocations, he fondly recalled spending time on the Navajo Nation, particularly helping haul water at his grandmother’s camp.
Though his early years were spent moving across the country, Kirkland has lived much of his adult life in Georgia, which has influenced his accent. He lightened the moment during the hearing by joking about being Navajo with a Southern drawl.
Kirkland’s clans are Bįįh Bitoon’nii (Deer Springs) born for bilagáanaa (Caucasian), his grandfather is Tłízí łání (Manygoats) and his grandmother is bilagáanaa (Caucasian).
With his swearing in, Kirkland becomes the highest-level Navajo citizen serving in the federal government.
Kirkland becomes the assistant secretary as partial federal government remains closed down because Congress cannot not agree on a path forward for a federal budget. More than one-half of the BIA employees have been furloughed during the government shutdown across 38 states.
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