"The Senate confirmed former North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum as Interior Secretary Thursday in a 79-18 vote, with the majority of Senate Democrats joining every Republican in the chamber.
Burgum, a one-time candidate for the 2024 GOP presidential nominee turned visible Trump campaign surrogate, has been among the president’s least controversial nominees. He advanced out of the Senate Energy Committee last week in a nearly unanimous vote, with only Sens. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Maizie Hirono (D-Hawaii) voting against the nomination.
Wyden, the mastermind of the renewable energy tax credits within the Inflation Reduction Act, cited Trump’s opposition to the cuts in opposing both Burgum and Energy Secretary nominee Chris Wright, who is also unlikely to face significant Senate opposition.
“I cannot support these nominees who will carry out Trump’s policies that throw out America’s greatest advantages,” Wyden said last week."
Zack Budryk reports for The Hill January 30, 2025.
SEE ALSO:
"Big Oil Wants A Lot From Trump. It Has An Ally In Doug Burgum, The President’S Interior Pick" (AP)