President-elect Trump announced Thursday that he will nominate North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum (Republican) to be Secretary of the Interior.
President Trump made the announcement at the America First Policy Institute gala held at his Mar-a-Lago mansion. Mr. Burgum also attended.
The North Dakota governor campaigned unsuccessfully in the primary for Trump earlier this year, and the two have developed a strong political and personal relationship. Burgum was one of the finalists for President Trump's vice presidential nomination, with running mate J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) taking the position.
The Secretary of the Interior oversees approximately 70,000 federal employees who manage the nation's natural resources and federal lands, including national parks and monuments.
Additionally, the Department manages energy development on both public lands and offshore.
Burgum is on the short list to lead either the Department of Energy or the Department of the Interior, and is expected to play a central role in President Trump's push to expand oil drilling and energy production. He will require Senate confirmation.
Burgum has taken climate change more seriously than many other leading Republicans, including the president-elect who falsely claimed climate change is a hoax. As governor, he created the state Department of Environmental Quality in 2017 and in 2021 set a goal for the state to achieve carbon neutrality by 2030.
But he is also historically friendly with the oil industry, the state's main cash cow, and was among the 19 people who signed a letter in 2023 blocking the Biden administration's push for environmental and sustainable governance in the financial sector. He was one of the Republican governors in .
Burgum has highlighted energy as one of his top priorities during his presidential campaign, saying on his campaign website that he wants to “significantly increase energy production.”
Prior to his government service, Mr. Burgum worked in the technology industry and held key roles at a software company that was later acquired by Microsoft. He then worked as a senior vice president at Microsoft.
Contributed by Rachel Frazin and Zack Budryk
