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.
