WASHINGTON (AP) Maine Sen. Susan Collins says she will support New Mexico Rep. Deb Haaland to be Interior secretary.

Collins is the first Republican senator to publicly back Haaland, who’s set to become the first Native American to lead a Cabinet agency. The announcement Wednesday makes Haaland’s confirmation by the Senate nearly certain and follows Haaland’s endorsement last week by Democratic West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin, chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.

Collins says she differs with Haaland on several issues but appreciates her role in helping to lead House passage of the Great American Outdoors Act, a landmark conservation law that Collins co-sponsored.