Doug Burgum, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for Interior secretary, said during a confirmation hearing on Thursday that he’ll use the position to boost domestic energy production through oil and gas leasing on federal land.
All Republican and some Democratic members of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee praised Burgum, who until December was North Dakota’s governor, setting him up for likely confirmation.
If confirmed, Burgum would lead the department that manages roughly three-fourths of the nation’s federal public lands and houses the Fish and Wildlife Service, the National Park Service and the Bureau of Indian Affairs, among other agencies.
Trump has said Burgum would also co-lead the National Energy Council, which would focus on “energy dominance,” alongside other federal agency heads including Chris Wright, Trump’s choice to lead the Energy Department. Burgum said he expects this council to be established by executive order in the “early days” of the new administration.
The hearing largely focused on Burgum’s views on the energy sector, including areas outside the department’s purview.
Burgum said it is important for the U.S. to expand domestic energy production and electricity generation to meet growing demand, particularly from artificial intelligence technologies. He expressed his support for an “all-of-the-above” approach that would utilize renewables and fossil fuels and called energy dominance “the foundation of historic American prosperity, affordability for American families, and unrivaled national security.”
“We need all forms of electricity, and we need more of it in the very near term. And so this is not about one versus the other,” Burgum said. “This is about, how do we drive forward and increase the amount of electricity we have in the country.”
Burgum was elected governor in 2016 after a career as a software executive during which he sold his company to Microsoft for over $1 billion. He briefly ran for president in the Republican primary last year, dropping out after polling poorly.
During his tenure Burgum promised to have North Dakota reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2030, a more ambitious target than the Biden administration’s nationwide goal of 2050.
However, Burgum’s plan relies upon carbon capture and sequestration, the fledgling and controversial practice of capturing the emissions and, in North Dakota’s case, burying them in the state’s underground geologic formations.
During the hearing Burgum suggested that carbon capture could play a role in meeting increased electricity demand, suggesting that AI data centers could be powered by so-called clean coal.
Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, questioned whether this approach would include wind. Trump has criticized wind turbines repeatedly, posting on his Truth Social account a day before the hearing that “I don’t want even one built during my Administration.”
King said Burgum should attempt to convince Trump that “wind power isn’t all bad.” Burgum suggested Trump’s position is based largely on the tax incentives available for wind projects. If projects are already moving through the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management’s permitting process they would continue “if they make sense,” he added.
Burgum promised to move forward with scheduled oil and gas leases and criticized the Biden administration’s pause on all such leases instituted in January 2021.
“Today, America produces energy cleaner, smarter and safer than anywhere in the world,” Burgum said. “When energy production is restricted in America, it doesn’t reduce demand, it just shifts production to countries like Russia, Venezuela and Iran, whose autocratic leaders don’t care about the environment.”
Burgum also promised to continue working with tribes, noting that during his time as governor he sought to approach tribal relations with “mutual respect.” Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., noted that Burgum had received the endorsement of all five North Dakota tribes.
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