After a lawmaker lifted a procedural “hold,” the Senate on May 26 confirmed Idaho Gov. Dirk Kempthorne (R) to be Interior Secretary. Senate approval came one day after Mary Landrieu (D-La.) said she was ending her hold on the nomination. Landrieu wants her state to get a share of federal royalties from offshore oil and gas. She says she’s “pleased that [Kempthorne] appears increasingly open to our needs.” Kempthorne succeeds Gale Norton, who left the top Interior post March 31.