Trump Formally Taps North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum for Interior Sec, Seat on

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It’s official; President-elect Donald Trump has formally placed North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum in nomination to be Secretary of the Interior, as well as giving him a seat on the National Security Council and making him chair of the yet-to-be-established National Energy Council:

I’m deeply grateful to President @RealDonaldTrump for this amazing opportunity to serve the American people and achieve ENERGY DOMINANCE! 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/iR8x54IZpK

— Doug Burgum (@DougBurgum) November 15, 2024

The statement from Trump, via his transition team, reads in part:

I am thrilled to announce that Doug Burgum, the Governor of North Dakota, will be joining my Administration as both Secretary of the Interior and, as Chairman of the newly formed, and very important, National Energy Council, which will consist of all Departments and Agencies involved in the permitting, production, generation, distribution, regulation, transportation, of ALL forms of American Energy. This Council will oversee the path to U.S. ENERGY DOMINANCE by cutting red tape, enhancing private sector investments across all sectors of the Economy, and by focusing on INNOVATION over longstanding, but totally unnecessary, regulation. With U.S. Energy Dominance, we will drive down Inflation, win the A.I. arms race with China (and others), and expand American Diplomatic Power to end Wars all across the World.

President-elect Trump’s statement concludes:

We will also undo the damage done by the Democrats to our Nation’s Electrical Grid, by dramatically increasing baseload power. This will reduce the cost of Electrical bills that continue to skyrocket for Citizens and Small Businesses under Biden-Harris, and ensure that America has the power to serve all of our needs without the devastation of blackouts and brownouts, and to WIN the battle for A.I. superiority, which is key to National Security and our Nation’s Prosperity. Doug Burgum will protect our Nation’s Natural Resources, restore our fabulous Oil and Gas advantage, and Make America, and its Energy, Dominant and Great Again!

On Thursday, RedState’s own Joe Cunningham wrote about Trump getting ahead of his team’s announcement on the Interior position, sharing it at an evening event; today’s is the formal announcement from Trump and the transition team.

About Governor Burgum’s background, Cunningham wrote:

Burgum, a former tech entrepreneur turned governor, has shown a unique ability to balance economic growth with environmental concerns—a combination that makes him an intriguing choice for this role.

In North Dakota, Burgum presided over one of the country’s biggest energy-producing states, but he’s also demonstrated a commitment to innovation in clean energy. He understands firsthand the challenges and opportunities facing states that rely on energy development to drive their economies. His experience navigating North Dakota’s oil boom while promoting conservation efforts suggests he’ll approach federal land and resource management with a pragmatism often missing in Washington.

Doug Burgum, interestingly, was a Republican presidential primary opponent to President-elect Trump. Now, he could have a key position in the second Trump administration.

The choice of Gov. Burgum is interesting, as his background is mostly in technology; he has been, in the past, the founder and later president of Great Plains Software, which was sold to Microsoft, where Burgum worked as the manager of Microsoft Business Solutions as well as several other positions in technology and the financial sector before entering politics. North Dakota, it’s important to note, is a major energy-producing state.

Stay tuned – there are sure to be more nomination announcements, and we’ll bring them to you as they happen.