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President Donald Trump revealed on Thursday evening that he has selected North Dakota Republican Gov. Doug Burgum as his Secretary of the Interior.
Trump shared the announcement during a gala held by the America First Policy Institute at his Mar-a-Lago estate where Bergum was in attendance.
“I won’t tell you his name, it might be something like Burgum,” Trump said. “Actually he’s going to head the Department of Interior, and he’s going to be fantastic.”
“I’ll make a formal announcement tomorrow,” Trump added.
Bergum previously ran as a Republican presidential candidate before suspending his campaign in December and endorsing Trump. The popular North Dakota governor was also on the list of candidates considered as the president’s running mate before Ohio Sen. JD Vance was ultimately selected.
Before entering the political arena, Burgum was the CEO of the tech startup Great Plains Software, which was acquired by Microsoft in 2001. He remained with Microsoft as a senior vice president until 2007.
As Secretary of the Interior, Burgum will be responsible for managing approximately 640 million acres of federal land. The department, which employs 70,000 people, oversees the development of both conventional and renewable energy resources on public lands and waters.
Burgum is expected to play a key role in implementing Trump’s commitment to reducing energy and electricity costs by 50% during his first year in office. The new interior secretary is also expected to play a large role in Trump’s pro-oil drilling efforts to unleash American energy production.
The nomination adds to a growing list of leadership announcements from Trump this week. On Thursday, he announced Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as his pick to lead Health and Human Services.
He also announced former Democratic Rep. Tulsi Gabbard as his Director of National Intelligence, along with Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz as his nominee for U.S. Attorney General.
Late Wednesday, Trump also confirmed reports that he is nominating Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio as the Secretary of State. Trump’s appointments began last week when he first announced Susan Wiles as his White House Chief of Staff, making her the first female to hold the position.
