Burgum at his confirmation hearing. Photo: Chen Mengtong/China News Service/VCG via Getty Images The Senate on Thursday confirmed Doug Burgum to be Interior secretary in a bipartisan vote. Why it matters: Burgum will lead President Trump's efforts to expand oil and gas drilling on public lands and deal with any energy-related fallout from the administration's funding freeze. Driving the news: The former North Dakota governor and onetime 2024 presidential aspirant cleared the Senate in a 79-18 vote. • He previously advanced out of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee...

WASHINGTON (AP) — 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, is an ultra-wealthy software industry entrepreneur who came from a small North Dakota farming community, where he worked at his family’s grain elevator. He served two terms as governor of the oil-rich state and launched a presidential campaign in 2023, but dropped out months later and quickly endorsed Trump.

The Senate on Thursday confirmed Doug Burgum to be Interior secretary in a bipartisan vote. Why it matters: Burgum will lead President Trump's efforts to expand oil and gas drilling on public lands and deal with any energy-related fallout from the administration's funding freeze. Driving the news: The former North Dakota governor and onetime 2024 presidential aspirant cleared the Senate in a 79-18 vote. • Minority Leader Chuck Schumer was among the Democrats who voted "no." • Burgum previously advanced out of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee with...

The Senate has confirmed former Long Island Republican Congressmember Lee Zeldin as head of the Environmental Protection Agency. Three Democrats sided with Republicans in Wednesday’s vote to confirm Zeldin: Arizona Senators Rubén Gallego and Mark Kelly and Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman.

The Senate voted on Wednesday to confirm former Rep. Lee Zeldin to head the government's leading agency on environmental rules and regulations. President Donald Trump tapped Zeldin, who previously served as a congressman from New York's 1st Congressional District from 2015 to 2023, to lead the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under his administration. During his tenure in Congress, Zeldin, an Army Reserve lieutenant colonel, launched a campaign for governor in New York, when he trailed only five percentage points in the largely Democratic state.

WASHINGTON (KMOT) – Former North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum passed a key procedural vote Wednesday afternoon in his bid for Interior Secretary. The Senate held what’s known as a vote of cloture on the motion to proceed, which essentially opens the 30-hour window for the Senate to debate his candidacy. A spokesperson for Sen. John Hoeven’s office said they need 60 ‘yes’ votes to proceed, and Burgum passed 78-20. A spokesperson for Hoeven’s office said they anticipate a final vote to go before the full Senate either Thursday night or...