President-elect Donald Trump today officially announced that he has nominated North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum to serve as U.S. Secretary of the Interior and chairman of the newly formed National Energy Council.
As Interior Secretary, Burgum will lead the U.S. Department of the Interior, a Cabinet-level agency that manages the nation’s natural and cultural resources. The department employs approximately 70,000 employees in 11 technical bureaus: the National Park Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Geological Survey, Office of Surface Mining Reclamation & Enforcement, and the federal bureaus of Indian Affairs, Indian Education, Land Management, Ocean Energy Management, Reclamation, Safety & Environmental Enforcement, and Trust Funds Administration. The department provides access to more than 500 million acres of public lands, 700 million acres of subsurface minerals, and 1.7 billion acres of the Outer Continental Shelf.
“Being selected to lead the U.S. Department of the Interior is an incredible honor and an enormous responsibility, and I’m deeply grateful to President Trump for this opportunity to serve the American people in such a broad capacity,” Burgum said. “Serving as Interior Secretary is an opportunity to redefine and improve upon the federal government’s relationship with tribal nations, landowners, mineral developers, outdoor enthusiasts and others, with a focus on maximizing the responsible use of our natural resources with environmental stewardship for the benefit of the American people.”
The new National Energy Council will consist of all departments and agencies involved in the permitting, production, generation, distribution, regulation and transportation of all forms of American energy. As chairman, Burgum will also have a seat on the National Security Council.
“The National Energy Council will foster an unprecedented level of coordination among federal agencies to advance American energy. By establishing U.S. energy dominance, we can jumpstart our economy, drive down costs for consumers and generate billions in revenue to help reduce our deficit,” Burgum said. “Focusing on innovation over regulation to solve the nation’s challenges will allow us to smartly expand American energy and make our world cleaner and safer by selling energy to our friends and allies versus them having to buy it from our adversaries.”
If confirmed, Burgum will be the first native North Dakotan to lead a U.S. Cabinet agency since former Gov. Ed Schafer led the U.S. Department of Agriculture in 2008-2009 under President George W. Bush. Two other North Dakotans have served in a president’s Cabinet: President Gerald Ford appointed former Bismarck mayor and Kintyre, N.D., native Tom Kleppe as Interior Secretary in 1975, and President Bill Clinton appointed Scranton, N.D., native Warren Christopher as Secretary of State in 1993.