The Senate confirmed Doug Burgum as interior secretary late Thursday after President Donald Trump tapped the North Dakota billionaire to spearhead the Republican administration’s ambitions to boost fossil fuel production.
The vote was 79-18. More than half of Senate Democrats joined all 53 Republicans in voting for Burgum.
Burgum, 68, is an ultra-wealthy software industry entrepreneur who came from a small North Dakota farming community, where he worked at his family’s grain elevator.
He served two terms as governor of the oil-rich state and launched a presidential campaign in 2023, but dropped out months later and quickly endorsed Trump.
Trump also picked Burgum to chair a new National Energy Council that’s tasked with achieving American “energy dominance.” He would have a seat on the National Security Council — a first for the interior secretary.
His directive from Trump is to make it even easier for energy companies to tap fossil fuel resources, including from public lands. That raised alarms among environmentalists and some Democrats as greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuels bake the planet.
Burgum eagerly assisted the energy industry during his time as governor, when he was also profiting from the lease of family land to oil companies, according to records obtained by The Associated Press.
During his confirmation hearing, Burgum said the U.S. can use energy development as leverage to promote peace and to lower consumer costs.
He raised concerns about the reliability of renewable power sources promoted under former President Joe Biden, and said the U.S. needs to generate more electricity from sources such as coal and nuclear that can run constantly.
Democrats in response accused the Trump administration of abandoning an “all of the above” energy policy to favor fossil fuels.
“They said wind is dead on the offshore. They are trying to do as much of this as possible to create demand for coal, for fossil gas,” Hawaii Democratic Sen. Brian Schatz said during a Thursday floor speech.
Wyoming Sen. John Barrasso, the second-ranking Republican in the Senate, said Burgum would rightfully prioritize energy innovation over regulation.
“He’s going to take the common-sense action of unlocking our lands for oil and for gas production,” Barrasso said. He added that more than 600,000 acres of land in Wyoming have been approved for energy production but were not offered for development by the Biden administration.
The U.S. currently produces more crude oil than any nation in history, according to the Energy Information Administration. More cost-effective technology in recent decades drove drilling booms in states including New Mexico, Texas and North Dakota, where vast expanses of rural farmland have been industrialized by oil and gas companies.
The booms brought billions of dollars in tax revenue to state and federal governments. But burning those fuels is also unleashing immense volumes of carbon dioxide that scientists say is warming the planet.
The Interior Department has jurisdiction over a half-billion acres of federal land and vast areas offshore. Those areas produce about one-quarter of U.S. oil annually.
The interior secretary also oversees the National Park Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Bureau of Land Management and other subagencies.
Burgum succeeds Deb Haaland, who under Biden sharply scaled back oil and gas sales and promoted solar and wind projects on federal lands.
Trump made energy development a centerpiece of his first term and is again vowing to abolish restrictions on the industry that are intended to protect the environment and public health.
Burgum, during his hearing earlier this month before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources committee, suggested to lawmakers that carbon dioxide from fossil fuels could be captured to neutralize their contribution to global warming.
Carbon-capture skeptics say the technology is untested at scale and allows the fossil-fuel industry to continue largely unchanged even as climate change becomes increasingly urgent.
During Haaland’s tenure at the Interior Department, officials also reversed actions taken during Trump’s first term that weakened protections for imperiled species while making it easier for private developers to pursue projects on public lands.
Republicans in Congress have said they plan to again seek changes to rules on endangered species and they want Burgum to help.
Burgum says federal lands can be used for many purposes including recreation, logging and oil and gas production that can lift local economies.
“Not every acre of federal land is a national park or a wilderness area,” he told lawmakers.
