The Senate confirmed Doug Burgum as interior secretary late Thursday after President Donald Trump tapped the North Dakota billionaire to spearhead the Republican administration’s ambitions to boost fossil fuel production. The vote was 79-18. More than half of Senate Democrats joined all 53 Republicans in voting for Burgum.

The North Dakota governor will oversee agencies that administer policy on Native American affairs, national parks and energy leases.

Former North Dakota governor Doug Burgum has been confirmed by the U.S. Senate to serve as the next Secretary of the Interior.

This article was produced for ProPublica’s Local Reporting Network in partnership with the North Dakota Monitor. Sign up for Dispatches to get stories like this one as soon as they are published. During Doug Burgum’s two terms as North Dakota governor,

Many of the oil and gas companies Burgum developed a rapport with are certain to want things from him following his Senate confirmation to the post.

FARGO, N.D. (Valley News Live) - Former North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum has been confirmed as the next Secretary of the Interior. It’s a cabinet-level agency that manages the nation’s natural and cultural resources.

The U.S. Senate on Thursday confirmed former North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum as the 55th secretary of the Department of the Interior by a 78-18 vote.

Doug Burgum, a billionaire software industry entrepreneur, was confirmed as President Donald Trump’s new interior secretary on Thursday. Burgum abandoned his presidential campaign and quickly endorsed Trump in 2023. Trump has directed Burgum to tap into fossil fuel resources in the US, including from public lands.

The Senate confirmed Doug Burgum as interior secretary late Thursday after President Donald Trump tapped the North Dakota billionaire to spearhead the Republican administration’s ambitions to boost fossil fuel production.

Burgum, 68, will lead an agency that guides the use of 500 million acres (202 million hectares) of federal and tribal land, a fifth of the nation's surface area. He is expected to pursue Trump's goal of maximizing energy and mineral production on public lands,

The Senate has confirmed former North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum as the next Secretary of Interior in a bipartisan vote, further cementing an energy dominance focus in the president’s cabinet.