President-elect Donald Trump has chosen North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum to head the Interior Department.
Trump made the announcement during a speech at a black tie gala held at Mar-a-Lago on Thursday. After ending his own presidential campaign in December 2023, Burgum endorsed Trump and became an outspoken supporter, appearing on TV news shows and at rallies and other events. He was also on Trump’s short list of potential running mates.
Here’s everything you need to know about the latest Trump loyalist tipped for a cabinet role.
Burgum, 67, grew up in tiny Arthur, North Dakota, population 328. He earned a bachelor’s degree from North Dakota State University and his master’s of business administration from the Stanford University Graduate School of Business.
He went on to become a wealthy software executive. He led Great Plains Software, which Microsoft acquired for $1.1 billion in 2001. Burgum stayed on as a vice president until 2007. He’s also led other companies in real estate development and venture capital.
He beat a longtime GOP officeholder to become governor
In 2016, Burgum ran for governor, his first campaign for elected office. He touted a message of “reinventing” government as the state dealt with a massive revenue shortfall.
In a major upset, Burgum defeated North Dakota’s longtime attorney general in the Republican gubernatorial primary. He handily won his first term in the strong Republican state, which has about 784,000 residents. He was easily reelected in 2020.
Burgum took a CEO’s approach to leading
Burgum has taken a business-oriented bent as governor of North Dakota, where agriculture and oil are the main industries. He’s pushed income tax cuts, reduced regulations, and changes to animal agriculture laws and higher education governance. Burgum also emphasized a “data-driven” approach to governing, advocated for a Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library in the state and prioritized engagement with tribal nations.
He and his wife, Kathryn, have been public about her recovery from addiction, and as governor he has prioritized resources for addiction treatment.
Burgum is known as a policy wonk who works long hours and is highly inquisitive. He has largely resisted wading into social issues, such as anti-LGBTQ measures pushed by members of his own party, vetoing a few such bills in 2021 and 2023.
But also in 2023, as he was planning a run for president, he signed a pile of bills opponents said targeted transgender people. They included a ban on gender-affirming medical treatments for transgender kids, sports bans for transgender athletes, and transgender restrictions in schools.
His own presidential bid was short-lived
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.
Burgum has navigated crises as governor
When he entered office in December 2016, he dealt with the final months of the sometimes-chaotic protests of the Dakota Access oil pipeline.
He’s led the state through terrible droughts and crippling storms. He was the face of North Dakota’s response to the coronavirus pandemic, holding dozens of press conferences, many of them daily in early 2020, including an emotional plea about face masks. He and his wife publicly received their COVID vaccinations in 2021.
Last year, amid his presidential campaign, Burgum called a special session for the Legislature to deal with a budget mess weeks after the state Supreme Court voided a crucial bill, putting some state funding in jeopardy.
