WASHINGTON, D.C — The Republican-led U.S. Senate is busy this week with a slew of confirmation hearings for president-elect Donald Trump’s nominees — including one of the most consequential for Indian Country.

More than a dozen confirmation hearings are taking place on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday in the nation’s capital. They come ahead of Trump’s inauguration as the 47th president of the United States here on January 20.

But while Trump isn’t officially able to submit his nominees until he takes office, Republicans have made it clear that they plan to approve his picks as quickly as possible now that they are in charge of the Senate. A day after his first visit to the U.S. Capitol last week, the incoming president expressed appreciation for the “love fest” his team has been experiencing.

“We had a great meeting with almost every Senator, Republican Senator,” Trump said at a news conference on January 9. “I would say it was a love fest event. This is a love fest.”

Among those expected to benefit from the love fest on Capitol Hill is Doug Burgum, who has been tapped to lead the Department of the Interior, the federal agency with the most trust and treaty responsibilities in Indian Country.

Burgum, who built his wealth in the technology and venture capital industries, just wrapped up eight years as governor of North Dakota. The state is home to the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation, the Spirit Lake Nation, the Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate and the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians, whose leadership has been welcoming of his rise to power in Washington.

“I trust that Governor Burgum will serve Indian Country well as the nominee for the position of Secretary of the Department of Interior because of his knowledge and support of tribal sovereignty,” Standing Rock Sioux Chairwoman Janet Alkire said in an address to North Dakota lawmakers on January 7.

Alkire credited Burgum for working to improve relations in a state where American Indians and Alaska Natives make up nearly 5 percent of the population. She said he stayed in close contact with tribal leaders through phone calls, texts and in-person meetings — one of which coincidentally took place two days before his Trump administration position was publicly announced.

“I want to extend my heartfelt gratitude to former Governor Doug Burgum and all those wonderful things he did to strengthen good relations between our five tribal nations and North Dakota,” Alkire said in the speech at the state capital last week.

The Department of the Interior includes the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Bureau of Indian Education and the Bureau of Trust Funds Administration, which handles duties previously under the Office of the Special Trustee for American Indians. These key agencies are overseen not only by the Secretary of the Interior but also by the Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs, another presidential nominee position.

Trump has not publicly stated who he intends to nominate as Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs. But multiple sources in tribal policy circles told Indianz.Com that Myron Lizer, a former vice president of the Navajo Nation, is up for the job.

Lizer, a Republican businessman from the Arizona portion of the reservation, confirmed as much in a January 2 interview with The Navajo Times. “My name is on a shortlist for consideration,” he told the tribe’s newspaper, which operates independently of the tribal government.

Great meeting with @DougBurgum and planning the return of American lands to the American people. His experience as governor of North Dakota will serve him well as Secretary of the Interior, and I look forward to working together! pic.twitter.com/jTDWm3i8wN

— Mike Lee (@SenMikeLee) December 10, 2024

Presidents often wait until a Secretary has been announced and confirmed before filling in other positions. It took Trump nearly 10 months to announce Tara Sweeney, an Alaska Native business executive, for the Indian Affairs post in 2017, which was the first year of his prior term in office.

But with most top-level nominees on a path to confirmation, Trump has been moving down the line to other jobs. On Saturday, he announced as energy industry lobbyist Katharine MacGregor as Deputy Secretary of the Interior. the second-in-command at the department.

“Katharine is currently Vice President of Environmental Services at NextEra Energy, Inc., and previously worked at the Department of the Interior during my first four years as President.” Trump said in the January 11 announcement. “She helped us in our quest to make our Nation Energy DOMINANT, and was also an integral part of the team that produced our Historic ‘Salute to America’ at the National Mall.”

More immediately, Burgum is set to go before the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources at 10am Eastern on Tuesday morning. The panel is led by Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah), who has closely aligned himself with Trump and who has worked with the Navajo Nation on water rights and other issues.

“His experience as governor of North Dakota will serve him well as Secretary of the Interior, and I look forward to working together!” Lee said a post on social media after meeting with Burgum in December.

Great strategy meeting with @DougBurgum to Make America Energy Dominant. As a member of @EnergyGOP, I’m working to get him confirmed ASAP. He’s the right choice to serve as President Trump’s Interior Secretary and Chair of the National Energy Council. pic.twitter.com/npHXIm0NZL

— Senator John Hoeven (@SenJohnHoeven) November 27, 2024

Gov. @DougBurgum and I had a great discussion about how American energy is key to lowering prices & strengthening our national security. He knows how to balance environmental stewardship with record energy development.

Gov. Burgum is ready to make America energy dominant again. pic.twitter.com/iOZiqRbRwb

— Sen. John Barrasso (@SenJohnBarrasso) December 10, 2024

The Democratic ranking member of the committee is Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-New Mexico), who also has worked with the Navajo Nation on a slew of issues. Last week, he chastised Lee of scheduling the confirmation hearings for Burgum and for another Trump nominee — businessman Chris Wright, to serve as Secretary of Energy — without seeking input and without providing enough information to lawmakers.

“As I have made clear to Chairman Lee, the American people deserve transparency on the individuals nominated to serve them in the incoming administration,” Heinrich said last Thursday after Wright’s hearing was announced without Democratic consent. A day prior, he made the same complaint in connection with Burgum.

“As members of the U.S. Senate, we have a solemn obligation to fulfill our constitutional duties to advise and consent to these nominees,” continued Heinrich, who is the senior U.S. Senator from New Mexico. “That cannot happen without the information necessary to properly consider these nominees.”

Still, Heinrich met with Burgum and Wright, as is custom for key lawmakers. He described the conversations with both Trump nominees as “productive.”

“We discussed our shared priorities and potential areas for bipartisan cooperation in celebrating our nation’s public lands legacy and fulfilling our trust responsibility to Tribal Nations,” Heinrich said of his meeting with Burgum.

“I will continue to fight hard to keep public lands in public hands, push for water management policies that reflect the realities of long-term aridification in New Mexico and the West due to climate change, and combat any effort to rescind national monuments or sell off public lands to private interests,” said Heinrich.

The first Senate Energy and Natural Resources hearing of this Congress was scheduled for tomorrow, but we still don’t have any of the documents required by Committee rule or federal law.

I’m leading @EnergyDems in calling for it to be rescheduled to next Tuesday. pic.twitter.com/IDZ2GH9ZM4

— Martin Heinrich (@SenatorHeinrich) January 13, 2025

On Monday, Heinrich renewed his criticism of the hearing for Burgum. This time, he was joined by all of the other Democratic and independent members of the committee in seeking to delay the gathering until next Tuesday — a day after Trump’s inauguration.

“The Committee still has not received the standard financial disclosure report, ethics agreement, or the opinions from the designated agency ethics officer and the Office of Government Ethics stating that the nominee is in compliance with the ethics laws, which are required by law of all nominees for positions that require Senate confirmation,” the nine lawmakers said in a letter to Lee.

“In view of the fact that the Committee still does not have these documents, which are essential for us to faithfully discharge our constitutional advice-and-consent responsibilities, we respectfully request that you postpone the scheduled hearing on Governor Burgum’s nomination for at least a week to give Members sufficient time to receive and review these materials,” the lawmakers added.

Among those who signed the letter was Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-Arizona), a newly-installed Democratic member of the Senate and a new member of the committee. He most recently served in the U.S. House of Representatives, where worked closely with tribes in Arizona and in other states.

A livestream of Burgum’s confirmation hearing will be available on energy.senate.gov. A witness list has not been made public as of Monday afternoon. Witness testimony is expected to be posted online at the start of the hearing at 10am Eastern on Tuesday.

“Being selected to lead the U.S. Department of the Interior is an incredible honor and an enormous responsibility, and I’m deeply grateful to President Trump for this opportunity to serve the American people in such a broad capacity,” Burgum, who was born and raised in North Dakota, said when his nomination was announced.

“Serving as Interior Secretary is an opportunity to redefine and improve upon the federal government’s relationship with tribal nations, landowners, mineral developers, outdoor enthusiasts and others, with a focus on maximizing the responsible use of our natural resources with environmental stewardship for the benefit of the American people,” Burgum added.

If confirmed by the Senate, Burgum will be the first native North Dakotan in a presidential cabinet since former state governor Ed Schafer ran the Department of Agriculture during the George W. Bush administration. Tom Kleppe, a former U.S. House member from North Dakota, served as Secretary of the Interior during the Gerald Ford administration.

Hearing to Consider the Nomination of the Honorable Doug Burgum to be Secretary of the Interior (January 14, 2025)