Burgum Confirmed To Lead Interior Department in Trump Administration
WASHINGTON, D.C. (KVRR/AP/FOX) — Former North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum has been confirmed by the U.S. Senate to become Interior Secretary in the second Trump Administration.
The Republican was confirmed by a vote of 79-18.
Burgum served as governor of North Dakota from 2016 to 2024. He also launched a presidential bid for the 2024 election in June 2023, where energy and natural resources served as key issues during his campaign.
Burgum will have vast control over federal lands, including the issuance of oil and gas leases, as well as a mandate from Trump to extract such resources even though the U.S. is producing record amounts of fossil fuels.
The selection of Burgum, who briefly pursued the presidency in 2023 before endorsing Trump, represents an abrupt pivot from President Biden’s emphasis on combating climate change. It also signals that Trump intends to follow through on a proposal made last spring when he urged oil and gas CEOs to donate $1 billion to his campaign in exchange for the dismantling of Biden’s environmental agenda.
“Governor Burgum worked tirelessly to build a prosperous economy,” spokesman Rob Lockwood said in a statement. “As governor, he met with job creators and leaders who generated opportunities for the people of North Dakota.”
Under the partisan glare of Washington and faced with stricter federal ethics rules governing conflicts of interest, Burgum has pledged to sell his interest in his family’s lease with the shale oil giant Continental Resources, as well as another one with Hess, a Chevron subsidiary. He has also pledged to sell stock held in a handful of energy companies, some of which he interacted with as governor, which are worth as much as $200,000 according to his 2023 financial disclosures.
Close ties to an industry titan
There is perhaps no better demonstration of Burgum’s close ties to oil and gas producers than his friendship with Harold Hamm, the Continental founder. The billionaire Oklahoma wildcatter advises Trump on energy policy and is widely viewed as playing a role in helping Burgum secure the nomination to lead Interior. He did not respond to a request for comment.
Burgum has likened Hamm to Teddy Roosevelt for his “grit, resilience, hard work and determination” that he said “changed North Dakota and our nation.” The shout-out came after Hamm had donated $50 million toward a library honoring Roosevelt in western North Dakota — a passion project of Burgum’s.
Hamm also gifted Burgum a set of cuff links along with a note thanking Burgum for his “friendship.”
These were not his only displays of patronage. Though Burgum, an independently wealthy former software company CEO, had a dim chance of winning the Republican presidential primary, Hamm’s Continental Resources contributed $250,000 in the summer of 2023 to a super PAC supporting Burgum, records show.
Emails between Burgum and Hamm’s offices reveal the two communicated often.
In a May 2020 email, Hamm’s executive assistant asked if Burgum had time to talk with Hamm and shared a briefing document that railed against wind power and excoriated tax breaks for wind energy providers as “unconscionable.”
Ethics experts say there are other aspects of their relationship that pose a greater conflict of interest. As governor, Burgum never disclosed that his family leased roughly 200 acres of farmland to Continental for well drilling, as previously reported by CNBC. When Burgum ran for president and faced greater transparency requirements, he revealed making $50,000 in royalties from Continental in 2023.
