ND’s Burgum named as incoming Interior Sec. and energy czar under Trump
Outgoing North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum has been named by President-elect Donald Trump as his incoming Secretary of the Interior.
In addition to the prestigious cabinet post, Trump will name Burgum as the Chair of a new interagency “National Energy Council.” The Fargo Forum quotes from Trump’s official announcement:
“This council will oversee the path to U.S. energy dominance by cutting red tape, enhancing private sector investments across all sectors of the economy and by focusing on innovation over longstanding, but totally unnecessary, regulation,” Trump said in the statement. “With U.S. energy dominance, we will drive down inflation, win the A.I. arms race with China and others, and expand American diplomatic power to end all wars across the world.”
With his chairmanship of the council comes a seat on the National Security Council, the Forum reports.
Burgum’s term as governor is scheduled to end on December 14, with the newly-elected governor, Kelly Armstrong (now a U.S. Congressman), to be sworn in.
Not everyone east of the Red River is as thrilled with Burgum’s appointments. Jill Burcum, editorial writer for the Minnesota Star Tribune, posted this comment on Twitter (X) earlier today:
Burcum’s post was in response to a congratulatory Tweet posted by Gov.-elect Armstrong on the occasion of the Burgum announcement.
As for the substance of her post, see our coverage of the topic.
In her most recent column for the Star Tribune, Burcum writes of her hopes, following Trump’s re-election, that Minnesota can become a magnet for disaffected residents of neighboring red states.
Seems like a long shot.