The following is the written statement of Doug Burgum to be Secretary of the Interior at his confirmation hearing before the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources on January 16, 2025. [PDF]

Good morning! I want to begin with gratitude to you, Chairman Lee, and to you, Senator Heinrich, for your leadership on this committee.

A special thank you to my friends, Senator Hoeven and Senator Cramer, for their incredible service to North Dakota and their kind words of support. And I’m deeply grateful for the support of all my friends, family, and my amazing and courageous wife, former First Lady Kathryn, who is joining us here today.

It’s an honor to have been nominated by President Trump to serve as the 55th Secretary of the Interior.

I grew up in Arthur, North Dakota. Population of about 400 — if you counted everyone in the Good Samaritan Home. My father was a World War II Naval officer who fought in the Pacific. Dad died when I was freshman in high school, and Mom went back to work in higher education. I was blessed to learn from them about service, leadership, sacrifice and a love for the outdoors.

Growing up I worked at our family’s grain elevator. Every job I had through college was one that required showering at the end of the day — not the beginning. This included paying my way through North Dakota State University by working as a chimney sweep.

After grad school at Stanford, I was working in Chicago when I saw my first Apple computer. That led me to literally “bet the farm” on a tiny software startup in Fargo called Great Plains.

With a dream, some mistakes, and hard-working team members, we grew into a global public company with 2000 team members serving 140,000 businesses in over 100 countries across the world.

I spent my entire professional career in the private sector until I was elected Governor in 2016. For the last 8 years, I have been blessed with the privilege of serving the citizens of the great state of North Dakota.

My time as Governor has been valuable preparation for the role of Secretary of the Interior, as our state and my duties put me in contact with many of the bureaus inside the Department.

In North Dakota, we share geography with 5 sovereign tribal nations. State and tribal relations in North Dakota have not always been great. But the current partnership is historically strong because we prioritized tribal engagement through mutual respect, open communication, collaboration, and a sincere willingness to listen. I am grateful for many tribal nations in and outside of North Dakota for expressing their support for my nomination.

As Governor, I served as Chairman of the North Dakota Land Board, which manages our land and minerals to yield a return for a state endowment fund that significantly funds public education. I chaired the North Dakota Industrial Commission, which oversees 16 agencies related to energy research, the state’s geologic resources, energy production, and transmission. The Governor also serves as Chair of the State Water commission, overseeing billions of dollars of water resources and projects.

North Dakota is blessed with omnipresent natural beauty. Including the rugged majesty that is the Theodore Roosevelt National Park, home to TR’s Elkhorn Ranch, which is considered the cradle of modern conservation. We have the beautiful badlands — which are “significantly badder” than South Dakota’s Badlands, great prairies, world-renowned agriculture, amazing hunting, fishing, four season outdoor recreation, and much, much more.

In North Dakota, we created a prosperous economy by sustainably developing our natural resources with respect for our land and wildlife while having among the cleanest air and water in the country.

During our tenure, North Dakota experienced among the lowest unemployment in the nation and top real GDP growth. Demographically, we went from one of the oldest states to the youngest. And we attracted record levels of talent and investment capital.

Our success was underpinned by our understanding that we live in a time of tremendous abundance, and we can access that abundance by prioritizing INNOVATION over regulation!

If given the opportunity to serve as Secretary of the Interior, I will bring those experiences and lessons learned to the leadership of the tens of thousands of dedicated professionals within Interior.

Which brings us to President Trump’s vision for a vibrant future that we can achieve together. The American people clearly placed their confidence in President Trump to achieve Energy Dominance.

Energy Dominance is the foundation of historic American prosperity, affordability for American families, and unrivaled national security.

Today, America produces energy cleaner, smarter and safer than anywhere in the world. When energy production is restricted in America, it doesn’t reduce demand, it just shifts production to countries like Russia, Venezuela, and Iran – whose autocratic leaders don’t care about the environment.

President Trump’s Energy Dominance vision will end wars abroad and make life more affordable for every family by driving down inflation. President Trump will achieve these goals while championing clean air, clean water, and our beautiful land.

Next to TR National Park, we’re building the Teddy Roosvelt Presidential Library and Museum to honor the leader who advised America to “speak softly and carry a big stick.”

In our time, President Trump’s Energy Dominance can be America’s “big stick” that is leveraged to achieve historic prosperity and world peace.

The Department of the Interior — in cooperation with U.S. Congress, this committee, and the states – will play a pivotal role in achieving the outcomes to make the world safer and America even better for our children, grandchildren, and generations to come.

I thank you for inviting me here today and look forward to our discussion.

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