Doug Burgum: From tech entrepreneur to Trump’s interior secretary pick

Doug Burgum, North Dakota’s governor and a former software entrepreneur, has been nominated by President-elect Donald Trump to lead the Department of the Interior, signaling a strong push toward energy expansion under the new administration. The announcement came during a gala at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate, where Trump praised Burgum as someone who would be “fantastic” in overseeing the nation’s public lands and energy policy.

Burgum, 68, began his career by mortgaging his family’s farmland to invest in Great Plains Software, later sold to Microsoft for $1.1 billion in 2000. Following the acquisition, he served as a senior vice president at Microsoft before transitioning to politics as North Dakota’s governor in 2016.

As governor, Burgum built strong ties with the fossil fuel industry, particularly with oil magnate Harold Hamm, a major Trump donor and advocate of domestic drilling. Burgum supported projects such as an $8 billion carbon pipeline designed to capture and store emissions underground, which he describes as essential to achieving North Dakota’s ambitious carbon neutrality goals.

While Burgum has been lauded for his energy expertise, environmental groups have criticized his nomination. Kierán Suckling, director of the Center for Biological Diversity, told the Times he’s “an oligarch completely out of touch” with Americans who prioritize conservation over profit.