President Trump tapped North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum as his selection for secretary of the interior.

Trump said during his speech at the Americans For Prosperity Gala at Mar-a-Lago on Thursday that a formal announcement for Burgum’s nomination would come Friday.

“We have a big announcement, and I won’t tell you, it’s – I won’t tell you the name of his, the exact name,” Trump said.

“I think he’s an incredible person, got an unbelievably wonderful wife named Kathryn. So, I won’t tell you – his name might be something like ‘Burgum.’ Burgum. He’s from North Dakota. He’s going to be announced tomorrow for a very big position,” he added.

“He’s going to head the Department of Interior, and he’s going to be fantastic,” Trump commented.

WATCH:

Per NBC News:

Burgum was a familiar presence on the campaign trail stumping for Trump, who had considered selecting him as his running mate before he settled on JD Vance.

Burgum, who has a business background, sold a software company to Microsoft in 2001 for $1.1 billion in stock. He then worked at Microsoft as a senior vice president through 2007 and continued in other business ventures in real estate and venture capital.

He was first elected governor in 2016 and won re-election in 2020. North Dakota implemented term limits for governors in 2022 that restrict any governor from running for a third term, but that measure did not apply retroactively to Burgum, who was already in office.

Burgum opted not to seek a third term in 2024, and his second term is set to end when his successor, Rep. Kelly Armstrong, assumes office in December.

“We’re going to reduce regulation waste, fraud and inefficiency,” Trump added, according to Fox News. 

Fox News reports:

Burgum made energy and natural resources a key part of his campaign for the GOP nomination.

After making the stage at the first two GOP presidential debates, Burgum failed to qualify for the third showdown, in autumn of last year, and he dropped out of the White House race last December. A month later, he appeared in Iowa with Trump and endorsed the former president for the GOP nomination, days ahead of the first-in-the-nation caucuses.

Burgum became a high profile surrogate for the former president, appearing on the campaign trail and in media hits on Trump’s behalf.

He was in consideration as Trump’s running mate this past summer before Sen. JD Vance of Ohio was picked as the Republican Party’s vice presidential nominee.

 

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