"The Senate today [Thursday] confirmed Aurelia Skipwith as director of the Fish and Wildlife Service on a mostly party-line vote of 52 to 39.

The vote, which concluded shortly after noon, puts Skipwith in line to be sworn in as the federal agency's first African American director, filling a key leadership post that's been vacant during the entirety of the Trump administration.

The promotion from her spot as deputy assistant Interior secretary for fish and wildlife and parks will also present Skipwith with myriad challenges that range from wrangling Endangered Species Act regulations to earning the confidence of FWS's roughly 9,000 employees."

Michael Doyle reports for Greenwire December 12, 2019. [2]