Trump Taps Burgum for Interior Secretary in Latest Pick for Rapidly Filling Future Cabinet

After a jam-packed week full of selecting both high-profile and contentious picks for his future cabinet, President-elect Trump on Friday announced several White House staff roles and one cabinet position. Trump announced that North Dakota’s governor, Doug Burgum, will be both Secretary of the Interior and chairman of the “newly formed and very important” National Energy Council, which “will consist of all Departments and Agencies involved in the permitting, production, generation, distribution, regulation, transportation, of ALL forms of American Energy.”Mr. Burgum had been expected to be officially announced for the role on Friday after Trump indicated that he would be chosen during a speech on Thursday night during a gala at Mar a Lago for the America First Policy Institute. Trump said that the new National Energy 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.” He said that energy dominance will allow America to “drive down Inflation, win the A.l. arms race with China (and others), and expand American Diplomatic Power to end Wars all across the World.” Mr. Burgum, who promptly thanked Trump for the “amazing opportunity,” has faced pushback from climate groups who say that he could wreak havoc on the environment. “It was climate skeptic Doug Burgum who helped arrange the Mar-a-Lago meeting with wealthy oil and gas executives where Donald Trump offered to overturn dozens of environmental rules and regulations in exchange for $1 billion in campaign contributions,” the executive director of Sierra Club, Ben Jealous, said in response to the nomination. Mr. Burgum’s “ties to the fossil fuel industry run deep,” he added, noting that if Mr. Burgum is confirmed that he would sell out public lands to polluters rather than preserving them. Trump on Friday also named his campaign spokesman, Steven Cheung, as White House communications director. Mr. Cheung had previously served as director of strategic response during Trump’s first term. Trump also said that Sergio Gor, who ran a pro-Trump super PAC called Right For America, will be the director of the presidential personnel office. Trump has yet to announce the nominee for the highly-anticipated Treasury Secretary role, but the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday that he appears to be nearing that decision and that he met with an investor and a top contender for the position, Scott Bessent, on Friday. A billionaire and chief executive of Cantor Fitzgerald, Howard Lutnick, is also regarded as a top contender for the Treasury role.

Trump Taps Burgum for Interior Secretary in Latest Pick for Rapidly Filling Future Cabinet

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