Trump Picks N.D. Gov. Doug Burgum for Secretary of Interior – RVBusiness – Breaking RV Industry News
PALM BEACH, Fla. – President-elect Donald Trump said on Thursday (Nov. 14) that North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum, a wealthy former software company executive, will be his pick for interior secretary, according to a report by Reuters.
In this role, Burgum will lead an agency with more than 70,000 employees who are stewards for 20% of the nation’s lands, including national parks, monuments, wildlife refuges and other public lands. The Department oversees the responsible development of conventional and renewable energy supplies on public lands and waters, is the largest supplier and manager of water in the 17 western states and upholds trust responsibilities to the 574 federally recognized American Indian Tribes and Alaska Natives.
“He’s going to head the Department of Interior, and it’s going to be fantastic,” a tuxedo-wearing Trump said at a gala at his Mar-a-Lago Florida retreat, adding that he would make an official announcement on Friday.
Burgum, 68, has portrayed himself as a traditional, business-minded conservative. He ran against Trump for the Republican presidential nomination before quitting and becoming a loyal Trump supporter, appearing at fundraisers and advocating for Trump on television.
At the gala, which featured tech billionaire Elon Musk, actor Sylvester Stallone and members of his incoming administration, Trump praised his latest cabinet picks and made some of his longest remarks since his presidential election victory speech.
Click here for the full report by Reuters.
In a separate report by the Associated Press, Burgum is a former Republican presidential primary contender who endorsed Trump, and spent months traveling to drum up support for him, after dropping out of the race.
Burgum was a serious contender to be Trump’s vice presidential choice this summer. The two-term governor was seen as a possible pick because of his executive experience and business savvy. Burgum also has close ties to deep-pocketed energy industry CEOs.
Trump made the announcement about Burgum joining his incoming administration while addressing a gala at his Mar-a-Lago club, and said a formal statement would be coming the following day.
Click here for the report by the Associated Press.
In its report, Politico said Burgum, if confirmed by the Senate, would manage the more than 500 million acres of federal land as well as the fossil fuels and minerals that lie beneath the surface — making him a critical component in Trump’s promise to boost oil and gas output.
Burgum will have a part in crafting policies that deliver on Trump’s promise to “drill, baby, drill”: leasing out federal land for oil, natural gas and coal development and setting safety standards for offshore oil rigs.
But Trump’s love of energy has not extended to renewable energy projects, something which the Biden administration sought to prioritize on public land. Trump is likely to push Burgum to scale back or end many of the Biden efforts to set up vast wind farms off the East Coast and other renewables on public lands.
During Trump’s first term, his administration sought to roll back rules on rig safety, climate change and Endangered Species Act protections in attempts to make things as easy as possible for oil companies to drill on public land. With Trump’s most recent talk of oil being “liquid gold” and that crude production would be four or five times higher under him than Biden, many agency observers expect the former president to look for new ways to remove regulatory speedbumps the current administration has put in place.
Click here to read the full report by Politico.
