President-elect Donald Trump has selected Gov. Doug Burgum (R-ND), a 2024 Republican presidential candidate, to lead the Department of Interior.
Trump announced his pick Thursday night at an America First Policy Institute gala held at his luxurious Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida.
At first, Trump, sporting a tuxedo, teased that he has a “big announcement” set for Friday but said he would not share the name of his appointee or the position they would fill. He ultimately revealed it is Burgum and that he would head the Department of Interior.
“I think he’s an incredible person, got an unbelievably wonderful wife named Catherine. So I won’t tell you his name–might be something like Burgum. He’s from North Dakota. He’s going to be announced tomorrow for a very big position,” Trump said.
“Actually, he’s going to head the Department of Interior, and he’s going to be fantastic,” Trump added.
The president-elect said he and Burgum are “going to do things with energy and with land, interior, that is going to be incredible” and emphasized his aim to slash energy costs.
Burgum was a Republican primary candidate but ended his candidacy in December 2023 and endorsed Trump on the eve of the Iowa Caucuses.
North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum speaks at the America First Policy Institute Gala held at the Mar-a-Lago resort on November 14, 2024 in Palm Beach, Florida. The annual event supports Grey Team, a nonprofit organization dedicated to preventing military suicide. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
In his victory speech after winning the Iowa Caucuses, Trump revealed he was already eyeing Burgum as a potential pick for a second cabinet.
“I hope that I’m going to be able to call on him to be a piece of the administration, a very important piece of the administration,” Trump said.
Later that night, Burgum flew with Trump aboard “Trump Force One” from Iowa to New York City.
Like Trump, Burgum was a political outsider and businessman before he became governor. Burgum invested early in Great Plains Software and eventually became its CEO before the company was sold to Microsoft in 2001. The Forum reported that Burgum went on to head up Microsoft Business Solutions.
Burgum focused heavily on energy throughout his presidential campaign and on the trail, stumping for Trump. In fact, in his endorsement of the president-elect nearly a year ago, Burgum vowed Trump would unleash American “energy dominance.”
