05.13.26

Natural Resources Democrats Grill Interior Secretary Burgum

Washington, D.C. – Today, Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum testified in front of the House Natural Resources Committee in an attempt to defend Trump’s abysmal track record and the rampant corruption raging throughout his department. Natural Resources Democrats grilled him about this administration’s track record and their plans to permanently destroy our special places. Secretary Burgum dodged questions on everything from high gas prices and ceding renewable energy dominance to China to funneling taxpayer money into Trump’s vanity projects.

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Ranking Member Huffman delivered the following opening remarks:
“Since you were last here, things have unfortunately gotten worse for the department and a lot worse for the American people. President Trump is gutting funding and personnel in the agencies that manage our public lands, ordering what's left of the beleaguered national park service staff to whitewash history, shutting down projects that are ready to bring cheap, reliable, clean energy to millions of families who are struggling with skyrocketing utility bills and bullying the offshore wind industry into abandoning billions in investments that would bring even more affordable energy online.

“Mr. Secretary, at every turn, you've helped all this happen. You have treated the public lands and waters that you've been entrusted with like assets on a corporate balance sheet so that billionaires, foreign companies, and political donors can profit. You've enabled a culture of corruption where people in your agency are making decisions that line their own pockets and enrich their families and friends. Under your leadership, the Department of the Interior has been a billionaire's dream, but a nightmare for the public and a betrayal of our obligations to future generations. Families across the country right now can't even afford essentials like gas, health care, and groceries. But instead of trying to make their lives better, Trump has been obsessed with a raft of vanity projects, and you've been one of the principal enablers.

“Oil and gas prices are soaring. As America pulled back from global leadership on clean energy technology, China stepped right in to fill the void. And while your administration promotes oil, gas, and coal – the fuels of the 20th century – the rest of the world is looking to the future and rushing to buy EVs, batteries, solar panels, and wind turbines from China and others. Trump's policies have been terrible for our competition with China, terrible for working families trying to pay their bills.

“This is the most nakedly corrupt administration in American history. My oath of office requires me to be very candid about that.

“My colleagues and I have been working around the clock to keep up with this steady churn of scandal created by Trump and your Interior Department. But, Mr. Secretary, you and your agency have stonewalled us at every turn.

“What are you hiding? And for whose benefit? Mr. Secretary, we expect truthful answers to our questions. The American people deserve that.”
Committee Democrats grilled the Secretary over the administration’s efforts to sell out Americans, our environment, and our public lands while catering to billionaire polluters and corporations:
Cost of Living and Gas Prices

  • RANKING MEMBER HUFFMAN: "Would you agree that most Americans are struggling right now to afford basic necessities of life because of rising costs?"
  • SECRETARY BURGUM: "Uh, yeah."
  • HUFFMAN: "I think most of us understand there's a struggle out there because of this administration's economic and energy policies. And while you are slashing just about every other part of the Department of the Interior's budget, including for national parks, you have spent a lot of the department's time, resources, and taxpayer dollars to serve Donald Trump's vanity. Mr. Secretary, while you're funneling billions into these vanity projects, gas is up by an average of $1.40 a gallon from last year. In March, President Trump posted this message. He said the United States is the largest oil producer in the world by far. So, “when oil prices go up, we make a lot of money.” Who's the “we”?"
  • BURGUM: "Well, it could be states, the federal government, the American people."
  • HUFFMAN: "So, this is good for American families that they're paying $1.40 a gallon for gas."
  • BURGUM: "I'm thrilled that they're paying, I'm thrilled that they're paying about a buck less than they were during the Biden administration. I mean, that's exciting."
  • HUFFMAN: "Again, there's a real disconnect here. Americans are not celebrating this spike in gas prices that you seem to think is just great. The “we” that's making a lot more money are – let's be honest about it – it's the Big Oil billionaires."

Ceding Renewable Energy Dominance to China

  • REP. DAVE MIN: "Do you agree that China is also trying to achieve total energy dominance?"
  • BURGUM: "Uh, okay."
  • MIN: "Do you know how much new energy China put online last year? They put on 434gw annually. 80% of the new energy that they put online last year was renewable. 80%. Meanwhile, the United States, under your, quote, total energy dominance strategy of rejecting renewable energy, put up 53gw of new energy last year, less than 10% of what China put up. Now, your clear bias against renewable energy in the face of all evidence is harming our national security, harming our ability to have energy independence, and putting us further and further behind the Chinese. And the cancellation of Total Energies’ offshore wind leases last year is a case study on your department's economically illiterate and unlawful energy strategy."

Solar Permitting

  • REP. SUSIE LEE: "Since for the past year, in my home state, there have been zero permits issued on solar. And with respect to following the law, the fact of the matter is a judge actually struck down the July 15th memo last month. So regardless of whether or not you agree with the court order, I guess my question is what's the immediate impact that that's having? Are you just not going to abide by the court order? Are you appealing it?"
  • BURGUM: "Yeah, absolutely."

Affordable, Renewable Energy

  • BURGUM: "Can you explain why the states that pursued the policies you’re describing have the highest power prices in the country?"
  • REP. SETH MAGAZINER: "Does North Dakota have one of the highest power prices in the country? You have one of the highest percentage of renewables. "
  • BURGUM: "False!"
  • MAGAZINER: "The data doesn’t lie."
  • BURGUM: "The data is lying."

White House Ballroom Spending:

  • REP. MAXINE DEXTER: "Mr. Secretary, your budget cuts the national park service by $1 billion, a 32% cut. If you put this $1 billion towards our national parks instead of Trump's ballroom, you could avoid that cut that would benefit every single American. Mr. Secretary, at any time, did you object to this level of spending for the ballroom? Our budgets are values documents, Mr. Secretary. You said this in your opening comments that your priorities and your values are where you're spending money. And you are refusing to stand up to our president, who is investing in vanity projects instead of our federal lands and our national parks."

D.C. Reflecting Pool

  • REP. JOE NEGUSE: "My understanding of the federal procurement rules is that a no-bid contract is reserved for situations where, quote, any delay would cause serious injury to the government. Your proposition is what? That there'd be serious injury to the government if this company didn't get the $13 million contract to do this particular project right now?"
  • SECRETARY BURGUM: “Well, I think we do have a sense of urgency. I mean, we got handed a record amount of deferred maintenance. We had 19 fountains across the city that didn't work.”
  • NEGUSE: “That’s the serious injury to the government?? Who picked this company? Because President Trump, a few months ago in a New York Times article, said, I have a guy who's unbelievable at doing swimming pools.”

Park Maintenance

  • REP. EMILY RANDALL: "You're proposing that the vast majority of funding for park construction be spent in D.C. at the direction of President Trump, not in our communities. This is wrong. It's misguided. Secretary Burgum, which do you think should be the higher priority: Fixing a bridge that is a safety hazard for hikers, or changing the bottom of the reflecting pool?"
  • BURGUM: "Well, my answer would be both."

Great Lakes Economy

  • REP. DEBBIE DINGELL: "You often talk about running government like a business. The Great Lakes fishery supports a $7 billion economy. The Great Lakes science center costs $15 million annually. I don't consider that a waste when it's protecting the drinking water of 30 million people and a $7 billion economy. The ROI is nearly 500 to 1. Do you believe it's good business to jeopardize the $7 billion economy and the region's source of clean drinking water, just to save that 15 million?"

Freedom 250

  • HUFFMAN: "I want to just ask if you directed anyone at the National Park Service or anyone else at Interior to form the Freedom 250 LLC. Did that come from you?"
  • BURGUM: "No. I'm not aware of the final decision maker on Freedom 250."
  • HUFFMAN: "Would you get that information to us, please? I mean, I think that's significant."
  • BURGUM: Sure.

Bureau of Ocean Energy Management—Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement Merger

  • REP. LUZ RIVAS: "The merger of these two essential bureaus actually means less staff and less resources. Budgets will be slashed by 95 million and staff cut a staff or a staff cut of 224 employees. This means an inability for the country to enforce safety and environmental protections. You're also increasing offshore oil drilling. All of this being done just to ensure that Trump's polluting donors have another large check."

Park Passes

  • REP. SARAH ELFRETH: "Interior now has a policy where you're invalidating park passes that have a sticker covering the president's face. This policy is now invalidating people's ability to access their public lands. I would just suggest that we rethink that policy for the purposes of ensuring people can access their public lands that they've helped pay for."

Tribal Nations and Sacred Lands

  • REP. MELANIE STANSBURY: "And though you just said that you're prioritizing tribal self-government, your budget cuts self-governance compacts by $83 million, your budget makes over $1 billion in cuts to core tribal programs to BIA and BIE, it makes over 744 million cuts to BIA alone. It cuts tribal colleges by 150 million. It reduces school construction in tribal communities by 85%. And when you compare that with the other cuts in the president's budget and HUD and other programs, it eviscerates tribal housing programs, law enforcement, sanitation and water projects, irrigation projects, basic infrastructure, roads, economic development, and zeroes out basic education and cultural programs."
  • REP. ADELITA GRIJALVA: "Because while as an administration you claim to respect tribal sovereignty and tribal heritage while sacred Indigenous sites are being destroyed under federal oversight, many are concerned with the Quitobaquito Spring as possibly being next on the destruction list for Trump’s secondary border wall as it gets closer. So, will you commit that U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Park Service avoid Quitobaquito Springs and minimize impact by not using groundwater within five miles, and monitor those water levels closely as the border wall is being built."
  • BURGUM: "Well, I.., that's a very specific thing that I won't jump ahead and commit to."


Some of Trump and Burgum’s planned cuts:

  • The National Park Service loses nearly a third of its budget. That is the agency running Yosemite, the Smokies, Acadia, Yellowstone, and 400 other sites. Less funding means fewer rangers, slower emergency response, closed bathrooms and visitor centers, trails that stop getting maintained, and longer waits to get in.
  • The Fish and Wildlife Service is cut by about 20%. This is the agency behind the recovery of the bald eagle and the humpback whale, the protection of salmon runs and endangered species like the Florida manatee, and the national wildlife refuge system.
  • The Bureau of Land Management loses about a third of its funding. BLM oversees 245 million acres of public lands, mostly across the West. These are the places where recreation actually happens: hunting, camping, climbing, off-roading, photography. Trump is cutting the funds needed to keep these places safe and open.
  • The Bureau of Indian Affairs is cut by nearly 30%. BIA funds tribal schools, public safety in Indian Country, and the federal government's treaty obligations.
  • Renewable energy funding is zeroed out. At the same time, the budget ramps up oil, gas, and mining development on public lands and offshore. Trump and Burgum are killing clean, affordable energy to prop up Big Oil billionaires.

Democrats have launched oversight investigations into:

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