U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, led a nomination hearing to consider President’s Trump’s nominee, Mr. William “Billy” Kirkland, to be Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs within the Department of the Interior.
Senator Murkowski opened the hearing by emphasizing the incredible significance of the Assistant Secretary’s role in upholding the trust responsibility and strengthening partnerships between the federal government and tribal nations.
“The Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs is an important position at the Interior Department. Your job, if confirmed, will be to assist and support Secretary Burgum in fulfilling the United States’ trust responsibility to the federally recognized American Indian and Alaska Native tribes and individual Indian trust beneficiaries across the country. This trust responsibility is the cornerstone of federal Indian law and policy,” said Chairman Murkowski.
“There are over 500 federally recognized tribes to serve, with more than 200 of those in Alaska. All with different histories and cultures. The cliché “one size fits all” does not reflect or fit Indian Country,” the Chairman continued. “The job of Assistant Secretary is not an easy one. And right now, the Department, and Bureaus you would oversee, are in major flux. The workforce has been drastically reduced—nearly 20 percent according to the numbers we have from the Department—and the recent budget proposal for Indian affairs programs was unserious at best. We have to do better.”
During her line of questioning Murkowski pressed Kirkland on the probate backlog, public safety, infrastructure needs in the face of a changing climate, and the importance of public broadcasting.
Addressing the Probate Backlog
Senator Murkowski raised the urgent need to resolve the longstanding probate backlog affecting Indian Country – an issue which undermines tribal sovereignty and the federal trust responsibility.
“We’ve got some cases in Alaska which date back to the 1990s and the early 2000s. I know there are cases in the Lower 48 that have been open for far longer than that. We are basically looking at about a 48,000 unresolved probate backlog—unacceptable by any measures and I know the Secretary agrees with that,” said Chairman Murkowski. “I need your commitment to working with me, working with this Committee, working within the department to resolve this probate backlog…This is an injustice that’s just been carried on for far too long.”
Public Safety in Rural Communities
Senator Murkowski addressed public safety challenges in rural Alaska, referencing her work alongside Alaskans to develop a new model for law enforcement and public safety in these communities.
“We have what was described as a rural public safety crisis – this was Attorney General Barr’s own words after he came to Alaska to visit. In the FY24 Interior appropriations bill, I was able to direct BIA to conduct tribal consultation on the budgetary needs of Tribal law enforcement. This includes everything from wellness courts and other essential justice needs. But we asked them to report back on the available federal funding, whether it’s at DOI or elsewhere, for Tribes in PL 280 States. BIA did this consultation last summer, but we still are yet to see this report.”
Mr. Kirkland acknowledged that the purpose of meaningful consultation is to come to an outcome that works best for both tribes and the trustee, and assured Senator Murkowski that he would work to ensure the reports were received by the Committee, if confirmed.
Infrastructure and Climate Resilience
As a lead author and negotiator of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, Senator Murkowski championed key investments for Indian country, including $216 million for BIA’s Tribal Climate Resilience program—critical funding from communities across Alaska.
“I’ve described to you the situations in many of our communities – whether it’s threats from erosion, flooding, or thawing permafrost—what it means to communities like Newtok, Quinhagak, Napakiak. They are living with these threats every day,” said Chairman Murkowski.
Senator Murkowski explained the ongoing issue with pauses in these awards– which have been authorized and appropriated for – and asked for a commitment from Mr. Kirkland to work with SCIA and the Interior Appropriations Subcommittee to release this much-needed funding.
Public Broadcasting
As a strong supporter for public broadcasting, Senator Murkowski concluded by addressing the recent Rescissions bill package, which slashed millions of dollars in critical funding for public broadcasting, a vital service for rural and tribal communities. These stations are often the sole source of news and cultural programing in Native communities.
“Just yesterday we got an alert in the afternoon of a 7.3 earthquake that struck off the coast of Alaska, around Sand Point. [There was a] Tsunami alert and it was public radio that basically told people to get to higher ground, to get out of the way of a potential tsunami and then gave them the all clear coming back. Our subsistence fisherman that are on the rivers right now, out on the ocean in Alaska, they are all relying on good things coming from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting,” said Chairman Murkowski. “KYUK has a program in English and Yup’ik, so it’s a great blend to help continue the language that is so important.”
While the Administration has promised to reallocate Interior funds to provide one-time support to Tribal public media stations, Senator Murkowski noted that this approach would not be sufficient for sustaining rural broadcasting long-term. Mr. Kirkland confirmed his commitment to working with her on this issue.
An archived video and witness testimony from the hearing are available on the Committee website.
The Committee will continue to accept written testimony until Thursday, July 24, 2025. Testimony may be submitted to testimony@indian.senate.gov.
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