Former North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum (R), President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to lead the massive Department of the Interior, invoked President Theodore Roosevelt in pitching himself for the job of managing hundreds of millions of acres of federal lands and waters.
“In our time, President Trump’s energy dominance can be America’s big stick that will be leveraged to achieve historic prosperity and world peace,” Burgum said during his confirmation hearing Thursday, referencing the 26th president’s quote from a 1900 letter to “speak softly and carry a big stick.”
It was a page from the playbook of Trump’s first Interior Department chief, Ryan Zinke, who pledged — and failed — to leave a conservation legacy that rivaled that of Roosevelt.
If confirmed to lead the Interior Department, Burgum will play a key role in carrying out Trump’s plan to boost fossil fuel drilling and other extraction across federal lands, as well as to dismantle environmental regulations. The billionaire software entrepreneur and two-term governor touted Trump’s so-called “energy dominance” vision during his opening statement Thursday before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.
“The American people have clearly placed their confidence in President Trump to achieve energy dominance,” Burgum said. “That’s the foundation of American prosperity, affordability for American families and unrivaled national security.”
Burgum said the United States produces energy “cleaner, smarter and safer than anywhere in the world,” and that the Trump administration would prioritize industry innovation over regulation.
“When energy production is restricted in America, it doesn’t reduce demand, It just shifts production to countries like Russia and Iran, whose autocratic leaders not only don’t care at all about the environment, but they use their revenues from energy sales to fund wars against us and our allies,” Burgum said. “President Trump’s energy dominance vision will end those wars abroad, will make life more affordable for every family in America by driving down inflation. And President Trump will achieve those goals while championing clean air, clean water and protecting our beautiful lands.”
Burgum received a warm welcome from both sides of the political aisle and largely escaped hard-hitting questions from committee Democrats. Though Democrats pressed the Cabinet nominee on a variety of issues, including climate change, renewable energy and the protection of national monuments, they didn’t ask about his personal financial ties to oil tycoon and GOP mega-donor Harold Hamm or his state’s support of a Utah lawsuit aimed at wresting control of millions of acres of public land from the federal government.
On national monuments, Burgum signaled that the Trump administration is likely to again target sites protected under the Antiquities Act. The 1906 law was signed by Roosevelt and gives presidents unilateral authority to designate national monuments on federal lands. Eighteen presidents have used the Antiquities Act to designate 167 monuments.
“Its original intention was really to protect, as it says, antiquities, areas like, I would say, Indiana Jones-type archeological protections,” Burgum said.
Trump and other Republicans have accused President Joe Biden and other recent presidents of abusing the law’s language, which states monuments should be “confined to the smallest area compatible with proper care and management.” It’s an argument that conveniently ignores the fact that many early monuments, including ones Roosevelt created, spanned hundreds of thousands of acres.
During his first term in office, Trump shrank the size of two sweeping national monuments in Utah — the largest rollback of national monuments in U.S. history — following a controversial monument review that Zinke led.
Burgum told Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah), chair of the committee, that he looks forward to working with him on the issue of national monuments. Lee has decried monument designations in his state and has a long history of opposing federal control of public lands in the West.
During the hearing, Burgum sympathized with Republican senators who voiced frustration with what they view as the federal government’s use of rules, land designations and wildlife management plans to restrict energy exploration and other development on federal lands.
One of more surprising moments came when Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) asked Burgum if he would continue supporting outdoor recreation via funding for the decades-old Land and Water Conservation Fund, or LWCF, which uses offshore fossil fuel revenue to establish and protect parks, wildlife refuges, forests and wildlife habitat. During his first term, Trump’s administration repeatedly tried to gut funding for LWCF.
The Countdown To Trump Is On
Already contributed? Log in to hide these messages.
Burgum, a hunter and outdoor enthusiast, said he fully supports boosting outdoor recreation opportunities, noting it is good for both human health and the economy. But when pressed about LWCF, Burgum indicated he hadn’t heard of the popular program.
“Some of those acronyms I’m less familiar with, so I’d look forward to learning more about them,” he said.