Senate Confirms Trump’s Pick to Lead His ‘Drill, Baby, Drill’ Agenda

The Washington Post
Doug Burgum arrives with his wife, Kathryn, to his confirmation hearing before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on Jan. 16.

The Senate on Thursday confirmed former North Dakota governor Doug Burgum to lead the Interior Department, a role overseeing millions of acres of federal land that will be key to President Donald Trump’s plans to boost U.S. fossil fuel production and “drill, baby, drill.”

The vote was 79 to 18, with many Democrats joining all Republicans in supporting Burgum’s nomination for interior secretary. Trump has also tapped Burgum to serve as energy czar and chair of a White House energy council, a newly created role that does not require Senate confirmation.

The Interior Department exerts significant sway over drilling, logging, mining and other industrial activities across roughly 500 million acres of federal land and more than a billion acres of federal waters. Under Trump, the agency is expected to relax restrictions on drilling in Alaska, the Gulf of Mexico and elsewhere that the Biden administration had implemented as part of its ambitious climate agenda.

A former software start-up CEO and Microsoft executive, Burgum served two terms as North Dakota governor before launching a long-shot 2024 presidential campaign. After suspending his bid for the White House, he quickly endorsed Trump, helping to lead the Trump campaign’s development of energy policy and outreach to oil donors.

In April 2024, Burgum and his wife attended a fundraising dinner with some of the country’s top oil executives at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, Florida, according to an attendance list obtained by The Washington Post. At the dinner, Trump asked the executives to help steer $1 billion to his campaign while promising to reverse dozens of environmental regulations.

During her 2024 presidential campaign, former vice president Kamala Harris slammed reports of the Mar-a-Lago meeting, saying Trump “literally promised Big Oil companies, Big Oil lobbyists, he would do their bidding for $1 billion in campaign donations.” Senate Democrats also launched an investigation into whether Trump’s request to the oil executives was a quid pro quo that may have violated campaign finance laws.

But on Thursday, several Democrats voiced only praise for Burgum, who has emerged as a far less controversial nominee than health secretary pick Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and intelligence chief pick Tulsi Gabbard.

Burgum is “a good guy,” Sen. John Hickenlooper (D-Colorado) said in an interview Thursday. “He recognizes climate change is a reality. And I think he really appreciates outdoor recreation. So I’d say of all the [nominees] out there, he’s got the highest point total in the John Hickenlooper ledger.”

Mike Sommers, president and CEO of the American Petroleum Institute, the U.S. oil industry’s top lobbying arm, also cheered Burgum’s confirmation.

“As Governor of a top production state, Doug Burgum has long been a champion for American energy leadership,” Sommers said in a statement. “We look forward to working with him to implement a pro-American energy approach to federal leasing, starting with removing barriers to development on federal lands and waters and developing a new five-year offshore program.”

Environmental groups blasted Burgum’s appointment. Lena Moffitt, executive director of the climate advocacy group Evergreen Action, also offered rare criticism of the Democrats who backed the former North Dakota governor.

“Trump’s unconstitutional power grabs make clear just how dangerous his extreme Project 2025 agenda is,” Moffitt said in a statement. “It’s frustrating that some Senate Democrats are backing the very people who will carry it out.”

Sen. John Hoeven (R-North Dakota), a Burgum ally, said he was not surprised by the bipartisan support.

“Interior touches so much that I would think Democrats would want to have a good relationship with them,” Hoeven told reporters. “Whether it’s the [national] parks, whether it’s federal lands, whether it’s Native American issues or energy … they’re going to want to work with him. And he’s the kind of guy you can work with – he’s not hyper-partisan.”

In addition to leading Interior, Trump has tasked Burgum with helming a newly created National Energy Council within the White House. In a November statement, Trump said the council would seek to coordinate policies across the federal government to boost “ALL forms of American Energy.”

Since November, Trump officials have changed the body’s name to the National Energy Dominance Council to avoid having the same acronym as the long-standing National Economic Council, according to two people familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment publicly.

Asked for comment, a White House spokesman said in an email: “Senior Staff are looking to rename the group, (not National Energy Council). A new name will be announced at a later date.”