Trump nominates governor of North Dakota — not Alaska — to be Interior Secretary

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This is a developing story.

A governor from a sparsely populated and oil-rich state has been nominated to be the next U.S. Department of the Interior secretary, but it’s North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum getting the nod rather than Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy who was rumored as a possible choice.

President-elect Donald Trump announced his nomination of Burgum on Thursday night during a gala at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate. The Interior secretary oversees management of federal lands, including national parks and monuments, and natural resource development on public lands.

Burgum, 68, has long-standing ties to fossil fuel companies and acted as a liaison between the Trump campaign and the oil executives who have donated heavily to it, the New York Times reported Thursday evening.

Dunleavy had discussed the Interior post with members of President-elect Donald Trump’s transition team, the political news website NOTUS reported Monday evening. Media reports earlier this week stated U.S. Sen. Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma was also a candidate.

The Alaska governor further ramped up speculation on Tuesday night with social media posts stating he and Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom would be making a joint announcement. He posted a second message a couple of hours later declaring there would be no announcement after all.

However, on the same evening Dunleavy also posted a message X (formerly known as Twitter) that referenced Trump’s desire to eliminate the U.S. Department of Education — which Trump still hasn’t nominated a secretary for.

“I support the concept of eliminating the US Department of Education,” Dunleavy wrote. “By doing so it would restore local control of education back to the states, reduce bureaucratic inefficiency and reduce cost. Long overdue.”

Media reports have also stated Dunleavy is a possible nominee for the U.S. Department of Energy, which in addition to energy policy has oversight of the country’s nuclear weapons program.

Dunleavy, in a social media message Thursday night, praised Burgum as “a fantastic pick for Secretary of the Interior.”

“Doug’s experience as Governor of North Dakota and in the private sector will be invaluable in pushing the President’s agenda regarding more oil, gas, coal and critical minerals and rare earths,” Dunleavy wrote. “Alaska stands to benefit greatly with Doug at the helm of the Department of Interior.”

Burgum would be the 55th interior secretary, replacing Deb Haaland who has held the post since March of 2021.

Among those criticizing the choice was the Center for Western Priorities, a Denver-based conservation group, which on Friday declared “Doug Burgum comes from an oil state, but North Dakota is not a public lands state. His cozy relationship with oil billionaires may endear him to Donald Trump, but he has no experience that qualifies him to oversee the management of 20 percent of America’s lands.”

“Running the Interior department requires someone who can find balance between recreation, conservation, hunting, ranching, mining, and — yes — oil drilling,” Executive Director Jennifer Rokala said in a prepared statement. “If Doug Burgum tries to turn America’s public lands into an even bigger cash cow for the oil and gas industry, or tries to shrink America’s parks and national monuments, he’ll quickly discover he’s on the wrong side of history.”

• Contact Mark Sabbatini at mark.sabbatini@juneauempire.com or (907) 957-2306.

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