Trump names Interior nominee Doug Burgum to head new White House council on energy
WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump announced Friday that North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, his choice to head the Interior Department, will also lead a newly created National Energy Council that will seek to establish U.S. “energy dominance” around the world.
In the new role, Burgum, who has strong ties to oil industry executives, will oversee a panel that crosses all executive branch agencies involved in energy permitting, production, generation, distribution, regulation and transportation, Trump said in a statement. As chairman of the National Energy Council, Burgum will have a seat on the National Security Council, Trump said.
“This Council will oversee the path to U.S. ENERGY DOMINANCE by cutting red tape, enhancing private sector investments across all sectors of the Economy, and by focusing on INNOVATION over longstanding, but totally unnecessary, regulation,’’ Trump wrote. His new policies will help drive down inflation, win an “arms race” with China over artificial intelligence and even expand U.S. diplomatic influence around the globe, Trump claimed without explanation.
Trump accused the “radical left” of engaging in a war on American energy, in the name of fighting climate change. His policy of energy dominance, which he also espoused during his first term, will allow the U.S. to sell oil, gas and other forms of energy to European allies, making the world safer, Trump said.
Trump has called oil and natural gas, along with minerals such as lithium and copper, “liquid gold” that should be exploited to the maximum extent possible.
Trump’s novice Defense secretary pick and report of a planned ‘warrior board’ fuel concerns in some circles over the sanctity of the military’s apolitical traditions.
Burgum, 67, was elected North Dakota governor in 2016, his first campaign for elected office. A former software executive, he led Great Plains Software, which Microsoft acquired for $1.1 billion in 2001. Burgum has also led other companies in real estate development and venture capital.
Burgum has taken a pro-business stance as governor of a state where agriculture and oil are the main industries. He ran for president in 2023 but dropped out after his bid failed to resonate. He later endorsed Trump.
Earlier Friday, Trump announced that Steven Cheung will serve as his White House communications director and Sergio Gor will run the personnel office. Both have been advisors to the president-elect since his 2016 campaign.
Trump wants Kennedy to run the agency overseeing drug, vaccine and food safety; medical research; Medicare and Medicaid. Ex-Rep. Doug Collins is picked to lead Veterans Affairs.
Cheung led communications for Trump’s latest campaign, where he gained a reputation for combative and insulting attacks on the Republican’s opponents. The Sacramento native worked in Republican politics and for the Ultimate Fighting Championship before joining Trump’s team in 2016.
Gor ran Winning Team Publishing, which he started with Donald Trump Jr. The company has published books by Trump and his allies. Gor also led the super PAC Right for America.
The Presidential Personnel Office will likely be a focal point of Trump’s efforts to shape his administration’s staff with loyalists. Trump in a statement described Cheung and Gor as trusted advisors, adding that he was “thrilled to have them join my White House.”
Daly and Megerian write for the Associated Press.
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