Trump expected to tap North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum to be secretary of Interior • North Dakota Monitor

President-elect Donald Trump said Thursday he plans to name North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum to lead the Department of Interior. 

“We’re going to do things with energy and with land, Interior that is going to be incredible,” Trump said during a Thursday event at Mar-a-Lago. A clip of an event was captured on CSPAN. 

“I look forward to doing the formal announcement,” Trump said. That announcement is expected Friday. 

Burgum, who has served two terms as governor of North Dakota, was among the field of Republican candidates for president during the primaries before endorsing Trump. 

Trump had previously teased that Burgum, a contender for vice president, would be a “very important part of his administration.”

As governor, Burgum has railed against what he sees as government overreach and bureaucracy under the Biden administration, especially on energy policy. 

The $18 billion department is responsible for managing public lands, protecting wildlife, maintaining national parks and monuments and overseeing most tribal programs, among other things.

This is a developing story and will be updated.