A former Navajo Nation vice president is being eyed as a possible nominee for the Bureau of Indian Affairs by President-elect Donald Trump.
Myron Lizer has been a vocal Trump surrogate across Indian Country for the last four years. He even shared a virtual message during the 2020 Republican National Convention.
“You see, our people have never been invited into the American dream. We for years fought congressional battles with past congressmen and senators that were part of a broken system that ignored us,” Lizer said in Shiprock. “That is, until President Trump took office. ... Whenever we meet with President Trump, he has always made it a priority to repair the relationship with our federal family.”
But now, Lizer could become the next assistant secretary for Indian Affairs.
If nominated, he would replace Bryan Newland, a member of the Bay Mills Indian Community in Michigan, and presumably serve under North Dakota Republican Gov. Doug Burgum, who has been tapped as Trump’s Interior secretary pick.
“I think Indian Country can stand to learn all about his methods and tactics,” Lizer recently said on Fox News after Trump reportedly won 17 Native American-majority counties nationwide, “and trying to carve out a niche opportunity for him to help out Indian Country.”
Lizer did not tell KJZZ News whether he’s being considered.
This week, 14 intertribal organizations, including the National Congress of American Indians and Mesa-based National Center for American Indian Enterprise Devleopment released an economic policy brief for the Trump transition team to consider critical issues about business, commerce, energy and agriculture.
The joint memo also advised Trump to consult with tribes to “identify and select capable candidates for key federal political appointments impacting Indian Country,” explicitly naming the role that Lizer is being associated with.
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