Donald Trump to nominate Doug Burgum as secretary of the interior
The president-elect surprised those present at Mar-a-Lago by previewing the political future of the current North Dakota governor.
Burgum had decided not to seek another term as governor in North Dakota / Kamil Krzaczynski
Donald Trump announced the nomination of Doug Burgum as secretary of the interior. The still governor of North Dakota and former presidential candidate opted not to seek a third term in his state and will now be part of the second Trump administration.
The president-elect surprisingly shared the news at Mar-a-Lago during an event organized by the America First Policy Institute to celebrate the Nov. 5 election.
"He's going to be announced [Friday]. … I look forward to doing the formal announcement, although this is a pretty big announcement right now. Actually, he's going to head the Department of Interior, and he's going to be fantastic," Trump expressed at the dinner.
"We're going to reduce regulation waste, fraud and inefficiency," Trump said. "We're going to clean out the corrupt, broken and failing bureaucracies. And we're going to stop child sexual mutilation. We're going to stop it because it's time," he added.
Burgum is a businessman who entered politics in 2016 and served two terms as the governor of North Dakota. After a brief presidential adventure in which he raised his national profile, he was among three finalists to be Trump's running mate this year, along with J.D. Vance and Marco Rubio.
What does the interior secretary do?
According to official websites, the DOI "manages public lands and minerals, national parks, and wildlife refuges and upholds Federal trust responsibilities to Indian tribes and Native Alaskans. Additionally, Interior is responsible for endangered species conservation and other environmental conservation efforts."
During the first Trump administration, the position was held by Ryan Zinke, currently a representative from the state of Montana.
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