Policy

“We cannot let big oil companies make private profits on our public lands.”

The senator Ed Markey the president-elect sentenced Donald TrumpNorth Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum’s choice to lead the Interior Department has drawn attention to his long-standing ties to the oil industry.

“We cannot let big oil companies make private profits on our public lands” Markey wrote about. “We should be building a clean energy future, not creating a cartel cabinet. »

The Massachusetts senator went on to pledge to do everything possible to protect the planet from powerful oil executives.

“I will do everything in my power to block Trump’s blatant attempts to line the pockets of fossil fuel executives at the expense of our planet,” he wrote.

We cannot let Big Oil make private profits on our public lands. We should be building a clean energy future, not creating a cartel cabinet.

I will do everything in my power to block Trump’s blatant attempts to line the pockets of fossil fuel executives at the expense of our planet. https://t.co/SEiw4tUUfK

– Ed Markey (@SenMarkey) November 15, 2024

Trump praised Burgum’s nomination at a gala Thursday evening hosted by the America First Policy Institute.

“I won’t tell you his name…could be something like Burgum,” said Trump, who said the formal announcement would be made Friday. “In fact, he’s going to run the Interior Ministry, and he’s going to be fantastic.”

The U.S. Department of the Interior leads the nation’s efforts to manage public lands, increase environmental protections, and foster relations with tribes, according to the department’s website.

Burgum has a close relationship with Harold G. Hamm, the founder of one of the nation’s largest independent oil companies, and the two worked together on the Trump transition, The New York Times reported.

According to the P.A.:

Burgum led Great Plains Software, which Microsoft acquired for $1.1 billion in 2001. He remained vice president until 2007. He also led other real estate development and venture capital companies.

Burgum turned his attention to business as governor of North Dakota, where agriculture and oil are the major industries. He pushed income tax reductions, a reduction in regulations and changes to laws on animal agriculture and higher education governance. Burgum also emphasized a “data-driven” approach to governance, and advocated a Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library in the state and prioritized engagement with tribal nations.

He has largely resisted wading into social issues, such as anti-LGBTQ measures pushed by members of his own party, vetoing a few of these bills in 2021 And 2023. But also in 2023, while he was planning his run for president, he signed a stack of bills opponents say targeted transgender people. They included a ban on affirming gender medical treatments for transgender children, sports bans for transgender athletes and transgender restrictions in schools.

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Lindsay Shachnow covers general mission news for Boston.comreporting on breaking news, crime and politics across New England.

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