WASHINGTON – President-elect Donald Trump plans to nominate North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum as his secretary of the Interior, he announced during a gala Thursday evening.
Trump teased the choice during a speech at Mar-a-Lago during an America First Policy Institute dinner, where he said he would appoint Burgum to a “very big position” on Friday. Moments later, Trump decided to drop the news early and tell the crowd that he had picked Burgum to lead the Interior Department.
Burgum, a 68-year-old wealthy software executive, unsuccessfully ran against Trump for the Republican nomination last year but failed to generate much buzz and quit last December before voting got underway.
But he immediately caught the interest of Trump, who appreciated Burgum’s focus on fossil fuels and energy issues and his command on television. The Trump campaign increasingly sent Burgum to campaign rallies as a regular speaker to tout a second Trump presidency and attack outgoing President Joe Biden. There was speculation that Burgum would be a possible candidate for the position of Secretary of the Energy Department, but this position remains unfilled.
North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum speaks during the final campaign rally for former U.S. President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump before Election Day at Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids, Michigan, on November 4, 2024.
The Department of the Interior oversees federal lands, including national parks and monuments, and administers programs and federal obligations involving Native tribes. North Dakota is home to five federally recognized native tribes.
As governor, Burgum took steps to improve relations with the state’s indigenous tribes. That includes signing legislation that codifies the federal Indian Child Welfare Act to prioritize Native American families in the adoption of native children.
During his campaign, Trump has talked about releasing unused land for fossil fuel development.
Environmentalists quickly dismissed Trump’s choice. “Burgum will be a disastrous Secretary of the Interior who will sacrifice our public lands and endangered wildlife on the altar of fossil fuel industry profits,” Kierán Suckling, executive director of the Center for Biological Diversity, said in a statement .
Known as an independent-minded Republican for much of his tenure as governor, Burgum has since embraced Trump’s harsh rhetoric and MAGA Republicanism. Trump included Burgum on his final shortlist for vice president before choosing JD Vance.
Burgum’s second term as governor ends next month when newly elected Gov. Kelly Armstrong, a Republican Party congresswoman, is sworn in.
Born and raised in the small farming town of Arthur, North Dakota, population 328, Burgum mortgaged farmland he inherited from his family in 1983 to invest in Fargo-based Great Plains Software. The following year he became president of the company and in 2001 he sold the company to Microsoft for $1.1 billion. Burgum worked at Microsoft as a senior vice president until 2007.
Today, Burgum has a net worth of over $100 million, according to Forbes magazine. Burgum is the founder of Kilbourne Group, a Fargo-based real estate firm, and co-founder of Arthur Ventures, a software venture capital firm based in Minneapolis. He is also chairman of Atlassian and SuccessFactors.
Reach Joey Garrison at X, formerly Twitter @joeygarrison.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump picks North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum as Interior secretary
