The Senate confirmed Doug Burgum as Secretary of the Interior late Thursday, solidifying President Donald Trump’s push to expand domestic fossil fuel production under his administration.
The vote was 79-18, with more than half of Senate Democrats joining all 53 Republicans in supporting Burgum, the Associated Press reported.
Burgum, 68, is a billionaire entrepreneur who made his fortune in the software industry. He hails from a small farming community in North Dakota, where his family operated a grain elevator.
Burgum served two terms as the state’s governor, overseeing a booming oil and gas industry. In 2023, he launched a presidential campaign but withdrew a few months later, quickly endorsing Trump.
Beyond leading the Department of the Interior, Trump has tapped Burgum to chair the newly created National Energy Council, which will focus on securing American energy dominance. In a historic move, Burgum will also hold a seat on the National Security Council, making him the first Interior Secretary to do so.
His directive from Trump is to simplify the process for energy companies to access fossil fuel resources, including those on public lands. Trump has also tasked Burgum with boosting American oil production beyond its current capacity.
As of Thursday, Trump has eight members of his Cabinet confirmed so far, including Burgum: Secretary of State Marco Rubio, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, and EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin.
Meanwhile, there is organized opposition to some of Trump’s nominees, including from a group founded by his first vice president, Mike Pence.
The group is ramping up a pressure campaign to convince Republican senators to reject RFK Jr.’s nomination to become President Donald Trump’s Secretary of Health and Human Services.
Pence is opposed to RFK Jr. due to his previous support for abortion.
“Whatever the merits of RFK Jr’s Make America Healthy Again initiative—indeed, whatever other qualities a nominee might possess—an HHS Secretary must have a firm commitment to protect unborn children, or else bend under the pressure and pushback surrounding these daily, critical decisions,” Advancing American Freedom President Tim Chapman and Board Chairman Marc Short, Pence’s former chief of staff, wrote in a letter to senators.
“While RFK Jr. has made certain overtures to pro-life leaders that he would be mindful of their concerns at HHS, there is little reason for confidence at this time,” they wrote.
This marks the second formal effort by Pence and his organization to block Kennedy’s confirmation. Shortly after Trump announced Kennedy’s nomination, Pence issued a statement urging senators to reject him due to his past support for abortion, The Hill reported.
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Kennedy, who initially launched a 2024 presidential campaign as a Democrat, had endorsed a ban on abortion after the first trimester but soon backtracked. He also expressed opposition to banning abortion before fetal viability, generally around 24 weeks of pregnancy.
On his campaign website, Kennedy said he was “a firm supporter of the principles laid out 50 years ago in Roe v. Wade” and that “if the courts do not overturn Dobbs v. Jackson and restore abortion rights, he will support legislation to accomplish the same.”
GOP senators, by and large, appeared unfazed by his past statements and have largely supported Kennedy after meeting with him, according to reports.
Kennedy has been attempting to reassure Republicans by stating that his personal views are irrelevant and that he will implement all the anti-abortion policies from the first Trump administration.
