Secretary Burgum testifies about proposed Indian Country budget cuts

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Examining the President’s FY 2027 Budget Request for the Department of the Interior

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House Committee on Natural Resources: Examining the President’s FY 2027 Budget Request for the Department of the Interior

Secretary Burgum testifies about proposed Indian Country budget cuts

Tuesday, May 12, 2026

Indianz.Com

Secretary Doug Burgum is headed to Capitol Hill to testify about the proposed fiscal year 2027 budget for the Department of the Interior (DOI).

Burgum is slated to appear before the House Committee on Natural Resources on Tuesday morning. As a member of President Donald Trump’s cabinet, he leads the federal agency with the most trust and treaty responsibilities in Indian Country.

Despite those responsibilities, DOI is seeking to cut $647.2 million from the Bureau of Indian Affairs and $10 million from the Bureau of Trust Funds Administration, according to a hearing memo prepared by Republican staff on the committee. Meanwhile, the Bureau of Indian Education stands to lose $436.6 million in the coming fiscal year.

“The federal government, bound by treaty and trust obligations, must support the unique government-to-government relationship between the U.S. and the 575 federally recognized tribes,” the 16-page memo states. “These obligations and federal policies support tribal self-determination across core areas of the federal trust responsibility, including public safety, trust asset management, healthcare, education, and natural resource management.”

Hearing Notice

Hearing Memo

Overall, the fiscal year 2027 budget seeks $16.1 billion for DOI. Despite cuts to Indian Country programs, the figure represents an increase of nearly $1.9 billion from current levels — largely because of an effort to consolidate federal wildland fire programs into a new entity being called the U.S. Wildland Fire Service.

Burgum, a former governor of North Dakota, is the sole witness at Tuesday’s hearing. It is scheduled to take place at 10am Eastern in Room 1324 of the Longworth House Office Building.

Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum speaks about the first-ever Tribal Energy Agreement during a signing ceremony with the Southern Ute Tribe in Washington, D.C., on May 11, 2026. Photo: Lowell Whitman / U.S. Department of the Interior

House Committee on Natural Resources Notice

Examining the President’s FY 2027 Budget Request for the Department of the Interior (May 13, 2026)

House Committee on Natural Resources Documents

Hearing Notice | Hearing Memo | docs.house.gov