President-elect Donald Trump announced Thursday that he will nominate Doug Burgum to be secretary of the Department of the Interior.
“He’s going to head the Department of Interior, and he’s going to be fantastic,” Trump said of the North Dakota governor during remarks at the America First Policy Institute gala at his Mar-a-Lago estate.
Trump, 78, indicated that he will make a “formal announcement” regarding Burgum on Friday.
The president-elect revealed Burgum as one of his cabinet picks after declaring that his incoming administration plans to slash Americans’ “energy bills in half.”
Trump teased that another “big one” could be revealed Friday as well.
“[Burgum is] going to be announced tomorrow, and we have somebody else who is probably coming up with him to be announced, who is a big one,” he said.
“We’re going to do things with energy and with land, interior, that are going to be incredible,” Trump said of his agenda.
Burgum, 68, has served as governor of energy-rich North Dakota since 2016. He was re-elected to a second term in 2020 and announced that he would not seek a third term in January.
He is known for his business-oriented approach when it comes to running his state and has said that many of his decisions are “data-driven.”
Burgum endorsed Trump earlier this year after an unsuccessful bid for the Republican presidential nomination.
Burgum aggressively emphasized ramping up domestic energy production and the threat of China during his short-lived presidential campaign.
The governor, who appeared at several rallies in support of Trump, was on the 45th president’s shortlist to serve as running mate, before Trump tapped Vice President-elect JD Vance.
Before entering politics, Burgum was the CEO of tech startup Great Plains Software, which was acquired by Microsoft in 2001.
He stayed at Microsoft, working as a senior vice president, through 2007.
As interior secretary, Burgum will be tasked with overseeing the management of about 640 million acres of federal land.
The department has 70,000 employees and is responsible for the development of conventional and renewable energy supplies on public lands and waters.
Burgum will likely be a central figure in carrying out Trump’s promise to cut energy and electricity costs by 50% within his first year in office.
The president-elect has said that he intends to meet that goal by unleashing America’s energy sector, vowing to promote “Drill, baby, drill” policies on his first day in office.
Trump’s energy and environment transition team has reportedly already prepared executive orders and proclamations that would open up western lands for drilling and mining, according to the New York Times.
The president-elect also plans to appoint an “energy czar” to lead efforts aimed at promoting oil, gas and coal production and slashing regulations, the outlet reported last week.
