Meet the new Trump administration staffers who will shape key US policies starting in 2025

Doug Burgum

Trump also tapped Gov. Doug Burgum of North Dakota for Secretary of the Interior.

Trump indicated his intention to nominate Burgum while attending a gala for the America First Policy Institute on Thursday. Burgum was also in attendance.

“I won’t tell you his name, it might be something like Burgum. Burgum,” Trump told gala attendees.

“Actually he’s going to head the Department of Interior, and he’s going to be fantastic,” the president-elect said.

If confirmed, Burgum will lead the Interior Department, which manages over 500 million acres of federal and tribal land.

“We’re going to do things with energy and with land, Interior, that is going to be incredible,” Trump said on Thursday.

Trump had reportedly considered Burgum as a potential running mate, alongside other candidates like Sen. JD Vance of Ohio and Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida. Trump eventually picked Vance for his VP, and has since nominated Rubio for Secretary of State.

In July, Burgum told CNN’s Kaitlan Collins that Trump had referred to him as “Mr. Secretary” while notifying him that he wasn’t selected as the Republican vice presidential candidate.

Like Trump, Burgum was a businessman before entering politics. In 2001, he sold his software company, Great Plains Software, to Microsoft for over $1 billion.

Burgum was elected governor of North Dakota in 2016, and his second term is slated to end in December. Burgum said in January that he would not seek a third term as governor.