President Joe Biden welcomed President-elect Donald Trump to the White House on Wednesday. Their two-hour meeting to start talks for a smooth, peaceful transition of power starkly contrasts from when Trump broke with tradition and refused to invite Biden after he won the 2020 general election.
“Politics is tough,” Trump said during a fireside chat at the Oval Office. “And many cases, not a very nice world, but it is a nice world today. I appreciate it very much.”
Setting aside political differences is something that the Navajo Nation’s top elected leaders often do, unlike Biden and Trump. In Navajo politics, the president and vice president are elected separately. Officially, there’s no partisanship either.
“But we know who’s a Republican and Democrat,” said former Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez, who lost his U.S. House race against Congressman Eli Crane. “Because they identify themselves for the county, state and federal elections.”
Nez identifies as a Democrat, while Myron Lizer, his then-vice president, is a Republican and has been a staunch Trump supporter. They still formed an administration from 2019 to 2023.
“We had a good relationship with President Biden during my tenure,” Nez said. “Of course, my vice president had a good relationship with President Trump, and so both of us working together, were able to advocate for our constituents.”
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The U.S. Senate is still drafting its version of President Donald Trump’s “Big, Beautiful Bill.” Tucked away in that proposed budget is a measure to renew the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act that since expired last June. -
Beyond being seen and heard in the negotiating room where water decisions are handled, tribes are also having to navigate unprecedented institutional shifts from the Biden administration back to Trump that, in turn, potentially hinder their sovereignty. -
Navajo tribal officials announced the first steps in restoring some land previously used for uranium ore mining on the Navajo Nation. -
While opponents – like the San Carlos Apache Tribe and nonprofit Apache Stronghold – claim things are moving too quickly, the Superior Community Working Group has met to address possible mitigations and benefits each quarter for the last seven years. -
President Donald Trump is looking to reopen Alcatraz Island, which once housed 19 Hopi men who didn’t want their children going to Indian boarding schools.
