Illustration by Forbes. Photo: US Federal Government
Interior Secretary Deb Haaland overcame numerous obstacles to become the first Native American cabinet member. Her net worth is the lowest among those in Biden’s cabinet.
Even among a diverse group where many members of President Joe Biden’s cabinet did not grow up wealthy, Deb Haaland’s path to her position as Interior Secretary is extraordinary. She’s spoken before about experiencing homelessness, raising a child as a single mother, living off food stamps and remaining sober for more than 30 years. In 2018 she became one of the first two Native American women to ever be elected to Congress, and in March, she again made history as the first Native American to serve in the cabinet and lead the interior department
“I don’t have a savings account, right? I mean that is—that’s real,” Haaland said in an interview with the Today show in 2019. “I just feel like there has to be more people like me in…