The Senate confirmed Doug Burgum as secretary of the interior
The former North Dakota governor won broad bipartisan support in the Senate, with 79 votes in favor and 18 opposed.
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Burgum was governor of North Dakota for eight years/ Kamil Krzaczynski
The Senate confirmed Doug Burgum as secretary of the Interior. The former North Dakota governor won broad bipartisan support in the Senate, with 79 votes in favor and just 18 against. He became the sixth confirmed member of Donald Trump's cabinet, following Marco Rubio, Scott Bessent, Pete Hegseth, Kristi Noem and Sean Duffy.
Burgum will oversee the country's environmental policy and public lands. During the second Trump administration, he is expected to boost the energy industry and, in the president's words, facilitate his "drill, baby, drill" agenda.
During his confirmation hearing, he promised to open up more areas for oil, natural gas and coal production, noting that renewables were given too much priority during the Biden administration.
">✅ CONFIRMED: Doug Burgum as the 55th Secretary of the Interior pic.twitter.com/2O4XksFKD6
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) January 30, 2025
The White House celebrated Burgum's confirmation, who will be sworn in in the next few hours, with a post on their X account.
"Doug Burgum's confirmation as Interior Secretary reflects President Trump’s commitment to safeguarding our public lands, achieving American energy independence, and ensuring responsible resource management. America is BACK," they posted on the social network.
">🇺🇸 @DougBurgum’s confirmation as Interior Secretary reflects President Trump’s commitment to safeguarding our public lands, achieving American energy independence, and ensuring responsible resource management.
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) January 31, 2025
America is BACK. pic.twitter.com/2fDtVsSq0D
Who is Doug Burgum?
The Republican founded a successful software company in 1984, which he sold to Microsoft for $1.1 billion in 2001. While he remained tied to the business sector, he devoted much of that money to philanthropy, specifically to helping younger people get introduced to new technologies and thus be able to compete in the 21st century.
In 2016, he jumped into politics, although he was clear that he would not be desperate for a candidacy. He wanted an executive role that would allow him to deploy his private-sector knowledge in the public sector. Even though his wife was not very convinced about the gubernatorial election, Burgum reassured her, "relax, we are not going to win."
Early polls had him 49 percentage points behind his rival, who happened to be North Dakota's attorney general. His money and his statewide campaign allowed him to reverse the situation, winning the primary surprisingly and then the general election.
Burgum was comfortably re-elected in 2020 and opted not to seek a third term to run for president. During the Republican debates, he came across as a traditional, 1980s-tinged Republican. He dropped out of the race in December 2024 and soon endorsed Donald Trump.
He subsequently built a great relationship with the then-former president. He was among the three finalists to be his running mate, though he ultimately chose Senator JD Vance.
What does the secretary of the interior do?
According to official websites, he "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 congressman from the state of Montana.
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