By , CNN |President-elect Donald Trump has chosen North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum to serve as his next secretary of the Department of the Interior.
Trump revealed his pick during a gala at his Mar-a-Lago resort Thursday evening, seemingly changing his mind in real time on when to make the announcement as he pointed to Burgum in the audience.
“I look forward to making the formal announcement, although this is a pretty big announcement right now. Actually, he’s going to head the Department of Interior, and it will be fantastic,” Trump said at the America First Policy Institute Gala.
Doug Burgum is a conservative second-term governor who challenged Trump for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination. Burgum avoided criticizing the former president on the trail but did not immediately endorse Trump when he suspended his long-shot campaign last December.
In the role, Burgum would inherit the agency that oversees natural resources, public lands and Indian affairs from Secretary Deb Haaland, a former member of Congress who made history as the first Native American Cabinet secretary.
Burgum, a former Microsoft executive, previously told CNN that he would not consider serving as a running mate for Trump or in a future Trump Cabinet.
“Happy to do lots of other things. I had a fabulous 30 years in the private sector. A lot of opportunities there,” he said last August. He was ultimately one of several prominent Republicans who received vice presidential vetting materials from the Trump campaign before the former president chose Ohio Sen. JD Vance as his running mate.
CNN reported earlier this week that discussions about Burgum’s future in the incoming administration had shifted in recent days into that of an “energy czar” who would run an interagency process that advances Trump’s energy agenda — in line with the president-elect’s strategy of appointing czars who could avoid lengthy confirmation hearings and begin work on day one. Burgum, now selected for a Cabinet-level position, would require Senate confirmation.
Trump so far has named over 20 picks for his administration – a number of which are controversial, including Fox News host Pete Hegseth as secretary of defense, former independent president candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as secretary of health and human services and Florida GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz as attorney general.
CNN’s Kit Maher, Veronica Stracqualursi and Kayla Tausche contributed to this report.
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