He likes what he likes.
But Interior Secretary Doug Burgum’s abnormal request of his staffers is so unusual that his people “are raising concerns all the way to the White House,” according to The Atlantic.
The request? Chocolate-chip cookies. Additionally, “preferably freshly baked and still warm.”
According to The Atlantic:
This peculiar fact became the talk of the Department of the Interior in recent weeks after his chief of staff, JoDee Hanson, made an unusual request of the political appointees in his office: Learn to regularly bake cookies for Burgum and his guests, using the industrial ovens at the department headquarters.
That request was not the only move by his team that has alarmed some Interior officials. Four people familiar with Burgum’s leadership, who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly, told The Atlantic that Burgum was focused on his status as the leader of a minor Cabinet department and that those who ran his office repeatedly made unusual demands to his employees. His office leadership once instructed political appointees to act as servers for a multicourse meal. They also dispatched a U.S. Park Police helicopter for his personal transportation. On at least one occasion, a political appointee was told to remake the cookies because the batch was subpar, according to three people.
Burgum ran for president from June to December 2023. He campaigned on priorities of energy, economy and national security, but dropped out after his bid failed to resonate.
He appeared in two Republican debates — including the first, which he attended after hurting his Achilles tendon playing basketball. He drew attention for his campaign offering $20 gift cards to people who would donate $1 to his campaign so he would have enough individual donors to make the debate stage.
In January, before the Iowa caucuses, he endorsed Trump. The same month, he declined to seek a third term as governor in North Dakota.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
