President Donald Trump announced on Thursday that his administration would begin charging foreign tourists more to enter America&#8217;s national parks than U.S. residents.
The announcement at a rally in Iowa came as he signed two executive orders dealing with national parks, including one that directs Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum to “appropriately” raise prices of entrance fees and recreation passes for non-residents. 
“To fund improvements and enhanced experiences across the park systems,” Trump said. “I’ve just signed an executive order to raise entrance fees for foreign tourists while keeping prices low for Americans. And we’re going to do that. The National Parks will be about America First, we’re gonna take it America First.” 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
.<a href="https://twitter.com/POTUS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@POTUS</a> announces that entrance fees for foreign tourists at National Parks will be raised in order to fund park improvements and enhanced experiences: &#8220;The National Parks will be about AMERICA FIRST&#8221; <a href="https://t.co/fIUB7ET0tC">pic.twitter.com/fIUB7ET0tC</a>
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1940943247083520128?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 4, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/07/making-america-beautiful-again-by-improving-our-national-parks/">executive order</a> states that the additional funds raised will be used to enhance park infrastructure and make the parks more accessible and affordable for Americans. 
“From the awe-inspiring Grand Canyon to the tranquility of the Great Smoky Mountains, America&#8217;s national parks have provided generations of American families with unforgettable memories,” Trump wrote in the executive order. “It is the policy of my Administration to preserve these opportunities for American families in future generations by increasing entry fees for foreign tourists, improving affordability for United States residents, and expanding opportunities to enjoy America&#8217;s splendid national treasures.”
<a class="c-link" href="https://get.dailywire.com/freedom/?utm_medium=website&amp;utm_source=editorial&amp;utm_campaign=freedom&amp;utm_content=freedomeditorial" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-stringify-link="https://get.dailywire.com/freedom/?utm_medium=website&amp;utm_source=editorial&amp;utm_campaign=freedom&amp;utm_content=freedomeditorial" data-sk="tooltip_parent" aria-describedby="sk-tooltip-2388">JULY 4 SALE: Get Six Months Of DW+ Free</a>
The order also directs Burgum to establish rules granting American residents preferential treatment for permitting or in situations where a lottery system restricts entry to certain areas. 
In recent years, there has been an increase in tourism at national parks, with a <a href="https://www.nps.gov/subjects/socialscience/visitor-use-statistics-dashboard.htm">record</a> 331.9 million visitors in 2024. In response, more and more parks, such as Arches in Utah and Rocky Mountain in Colorado, have begun implementing timed-entry programs. 
The order also rescinded an Obama-era <a href="https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2017/01/19/2017-01383/promoting-diversity-and-inclusion-in-our-national-parks-national-forests-and-other-public-lands-and">executive order</a> that called for the National Park Service to promote diversity and inclusion, including in the workforce. 
The other executive order signed by Trump on Thursday created the “Make America Beautiful Commission,&#8221; composed of Burgum, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin, and other cabinet officials. 
The commission was tasked with advising the president on how to “responsibly conserve America&#8217;s national treasures and natural resources” and “developing policies to recover fish and wildlife populations through collaboration rather than regulation.”
The commission was instructed “to expand access to public lands, national parks, national forests, and wildlife refuges while promoting a wide range of outdoor recreation opportunities like hunting, fishing, hiking, biking, skiing, climbing, boating, off-roading, and wildlife viewing.”

US-POLITICS-HOLIDAY-TRUMP

Trump Admin To Adjust National Park Fees To Prioritize American Families Over Foreign Tourists

Donald Trump

Doug Burgum

Executive

Executive Orders

General

National Park Service

Politics

Tourism

Prominent community members of Alaska’s North Slope warmly welcomed top Trump administration officials last week while ripping into the prior administration led by former President Joe Biden.
A trio of Trump cabinet officials – Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin, and Energy Secretary Chris Wright – traveled to northern Alaska last week to announce that Biden-era restrictions on oil development in the region would be <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-moves-to-unlock-millions-of-oil-rich-acres-in-alaska-from-biden-environmental-rules?author=Tim+Pearce&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=15&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Trump+Moves+To+Unlock+Millions+Of+Oil-Rich+Acres+In+Alaska+From+Biden+Environmental+Rules">rescinded</a>. The cabinet officials met with North Slope residents in Utqiagvik, Alaska.
Inupiat tribal leaders and officials greeted the news enthusiastically, according to video of the meeting obtained by The Daily Wire.
“When we had a similar meeting with the former Secretary of the Interior, that rule was announced after everybody got on the plane and flew out,” said Josiah Patkotak, mayor of North Slope Borough. He added that the prior administration’s rule “was contrary to what the public comment was.”
“Here we are, full transparency from our own secretary, and I think that deserves another round of applause,” Patkotak said after Burgum announced the administration’s intent to scrap the Biden-era restrictions.
Last year, the Biden administration banned oil and gas exploration and drilling across 10.6 million acres in the National Petroleum Reserve of Alaska (NPRA), a reserve set aside decades ago by Congress for future oil development. The administration put tight restrictions on development on another roughly three million acres of the reserve. In total, over half of the roughly 23-million acre reserve was locked to development.
<a href="https://get.dailywire.com/gift/?utm_medium=website&amp;utm_source=wisepops&amp;utm_campaign=dad&amp;utm_content=fathersdaygiftpopups" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Gift Dad an All Access Membership. Use code DAD40 at checkout to save 40%!</a>
“Our ask is the same as always: that the North Slope Inupiat be central to discussions and decisions about land use in our region,” said Rex Rock, Sr., the president and CEO of the Arctic Slope Regional Corporation.
“Under the previous administration, as you heard, there were many actions that undermined our people’s self-determination, ignored our voices, and negatively impacted our communities. Their 2024 rule, Management and Protection of the National Petroleum Reserve – Alaska, was not supported by a single entity in our region – and they still chose to implement it,” he said.
“Our region opposed the 2022 NPRA integrated activity plan because it took 50% of the NPRA off the table for development, which impacts the ability of our region to provide services to our people and communities,” Rock added.
Charles Lampe, the current president of the Kaktovik Inupiat Corporation, said that under the Biden administration, the North Slope and its residents “were under attack” by environmental groups. Groups such as <a href="https://www.wilderness.org/wild-places/alaska/oil-drilling-arctic-national-wildlife-refuge">The Wilderness Society</a> have long pushed for federal restrictions on Alaska’s North Slope that would ban development and industry, even in the petroleum reserve.
“On Day 1, President Trump told the Fish and Wildlife Department to deny that request. And that was such an amazing thing for us to be able to see. And we were so proud of our president then because he made sure that our ancestral homelands weren’t going to be stolen, [but] protected,” Lampe said. “So, I really need to bring back this just immense gratitude to President Trump for that action.”
“If the other guy would have won,” said Lampe, refering to former President Joe Biden and former Vice President Kamala Harris, “there&#8217;s no doubt in my mind that our homeland would have been stolen, and there&#8217;s nothing we could have done about it.”

North Slope Borough, Alaska

Alaskan Tribal Leaders Offer ‘Immense Gratitude’ To Trump For Killing Biden Oil Development Bans

Alaska

Chris Wright

Energy

Lee Zeldin

Oil and Gas

U.S.

The Trump administration is rolling back Biden-era regulations that blocked energy development in Alaska’s national petroleum reserve.
The Biden administration restricted oil exploration and drilling across 13.3 million acres of the National Petroleum Reserve of Alaska (APR-A) last year in a move that angered industry, state, and tribal leaders. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum announced Monday that the Trump administration would reverse those rules.
“Congress was clear: the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska was set aside to support America’s energy security through responsible development,” said Burgum in a <a href="https://www.doi.gov/pressreleases/interior-moves-rescind-2024-rule-alaskas-petroleum-reserve">statement</a>. “The 2024 rule ignored that mandate, prioritizing obstruction over production and undermining our ability to harness domestic resources at a time when American energy independence has never been more critical. We&#8217;re restoring the balance and putting our energy future back on track.”
Alaska’s sole representative in the U.S. House, Nick Begich, celebrated the news.
“Alaska’s right to self-determination is being restored. Thank you @SecretaryBurgum and @POTUS for your leadership and recognizing Alaska’s extraordinary resource potential,” he wrote in a post on <a href="https://x.com/RepNickBegich/status/1929595733591969997">X</a>.
<a href="https://get.dailywire.com/subscribe/plus/?utm_medium=website&amp;utm_source=editorial&amp;utm_campaign=memorial&amp;utm_content=editorialmemorialday&amp;_gl=1*1qdq03s*_gcl_au*MTYyNDg0MTE0OS4xNzQxODk4NTMz*_ga*MTEzOTk1NjkxNi4xNzI2MzI1MDQz*_ga_CZKR9ZYKJP*czE3NDgzNzg2NDgkbzEwMDMkZzEkdDE3NDgzODEwMTckajU4JGwwJGgw" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Get 40% Off New DailyWire+ Annual Memberships</a>
Last year, the Biden administration issued final rules banning oil and gas drilling across 10.6 million acres in the oil reserve. Over another roughly three million acres, the administration put added protections in place. The rules locked up more than half of the state&#8217;s roughly 23 million-acre petroleum reserve.
The Biden administration also denied the state a permit to build a 211-mile industrial road through the Alaskan wilderness to reach a large copper deposit.
Biden&#8217;s Interior Department cracked down on development in the preserve after the administration approved the Willow Project, an $8 billion oil development project in Alaska. The approval ignited protest against the Biden administration from environmental groups. The administration then cracked down on oil and gas development in Alaska while fuel prices in the United States <a href="https://www.eia.gov/dnav/pet/hist/LeafHandler.ashx?n=pet&amp;s=emm_epm0_pte_nus_dpg&amp;f=m">remained</a> high.
The entire preserve “contains a mean estimate of 895 million barrels of oil and a mean estimate of 52.8 trillion cubic feet (TCF) of natural gas,” according to an Institute for Energy Research <a href="https://www.instituteforenergyresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/National-Petroleum-Reserve-Fact-Sheet-DRS-1-2.pdf">fact sheet</a>.
The Department of the Interior on Monday said that former President Joe Biden’s action “exceeds the agency’s statutory authority under the Naval Petroleum Reserves Production Act of 1976.”
“The 2024 rule significantly expanded procedural requirements and created a presumption against oil and gas activity in approximately 13 million acres designated as ‘Special Areas’ unless operators could prove minimal or no adverse effects on surface resources. These provisions not only lack a basis in the Naval Petroleum Reserves Production Act but undermine the BLM’s obligation to carry out an effective and timely leasing program,” the Interior Department said.
President Donald Trump has prioritized developing the United States’ domestic oil and gas resources. He has also marked out Alaska’s resources for development, in particular.
One of Trump’s first moves as president was to <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/unleashing-alaskas-extraordinary-resource-potential/">direct</a> a streamlined regulatory process for development in Alaska, covering not just oil and gas, but mining, forestry, fishing, and other industries.

Trump Moves To Unlock Millions Of Oil-Rich Acres In Alaska From Biden Environmental Rules

Department of the Interior

Inflation and gross domestic product are both down while investment in the United States surges. And we talk to Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum about how the Trump administration is unleashing energy development one hundred days into the term.
It’s Thursday, May 1, and this is the news you need to know to start your day.
Morning Wire is <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/investment-up-gdp-down-drill-baby-drill?elementPosition=0&amp;row=2&amp;rowHeadline=Latest+Episodes&amp;rowType=Horizontal+Show+Episodes+Carousel">now available on video</a>! You can watch today’s episode below:
&nbsp;
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Investment Up, GDP Down &amp; Drill, Baby, Drill" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/3HU1YLcWA0k?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
&nbsp;
If you’d rather <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/podcasts/morning-wire?elementPosition=0&amp;row=0&amp;rowHeadline=News+%26+Commentary&amp;rowType=Square+Show+Carousel">listen to the show</a>, it&#8217;s still available in audio wherever you get your podcasts. Today’s edition of the Morning Wire podcast can be heard below:
&nbsp;
<iframe style="width: 100%; max-width: 660px; overflow: hidden; border-radius: 10px;" src="https://embed.podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/investment-up-gdp-down-drill-baby-drill-5-1-25/id1576594336?i=1000705667705" height="175" frameborder="0" sandbox="allow-forms allow-popups allow-same-origin allow-scripts allow-storage-access-by-user-activation allow-top-navigation-by-user-activation"></iframe>
&nbsp;
<h2>Investments Surge, GDP Slips</h2>
<div class="image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-914361" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/4302025-1Graphic.jpeg" alt="" width="640" height="360" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/4302025-1Graphic.jpeg 640w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/4302025-1Graphic-300x169.jpeg 300w" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px" /></div>
Topline: American investment is surging despite turmoil around Trump’s tariffs – and the GDP is slightly slipping.
The GDP shrank by 0.3% in the first quarter of 2025, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped about 200 points in response to that news. But if we dig into the numbers the data is mixed – and there are actually some significant positives. During a cabinet meeting on Wednesday, Trump and other administration officials challenged the media’s narrative about the economy, arguing that they are turning Biden’s economy around and that “core GDP” is on the rise.
“I was very against everything Biden was doing in terms of the economy,” Trump <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-1xpqn6z2o">said</a>. “ But we took over his mess in so many different ways… despite what we were handed we turned them around.”
White House trade advisor Peter Navarro broke down how the administration crunched the numbers. He said that a surge in imports and DOGE slashing government waste make the GDP look much lower on paper. “The markets need to look below the surface of that,” Navarro said. “We had a 22% increase in domestic investments. That is off the charts.”
In that same cabinet meeting, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick laid out details about how another semiconductor company, which is the main chip supplier for Apple, is building a major manufacturing plant in Arizona. Trump also said he has gotten $8 trillion in new investments in the United States since taking office.
Inflation slowed to its lowest rate since September, and consumer spending increased by $135 billion, or 0.7%. Much of that was Americans buying cars and other big-ticket items, partly to get ahead of Trump’s tariffs. Meanwhile, prices were static in March, and personal incomes rose by $116.8 billion, or 0.5%.
<h2>Drill Baby Drill</h2>
<div class="image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-914363" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/512025-2Graphic.jpeg" alt="" width="640" height="360" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/512025-2Graphic.jpeg 640w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/512025-2Graphic-300x169.jpeg 300w" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px" /></div>
Topline: The Trump Administration is looking to break America’s reliance on Chinese natural resources by expanding domestic mining and drilling.
The Department of the Interior oversees billions of acres of federal lands and waters and has the power to open up new land for mining and drilling operations. Under the Trump administration, it’s doing just that.
This month, when China announced a ban on the export of several rare earth minerals, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum announced that he would reverse President Biden’s so-called “war on mining” to ensure the United States could begin producing those minerals on its own. 
“Obama, Biden, you know, their whole approach was we&#8217;re gonna shut down mining, we&#8217;re gonna shut down oil and gas development,” Burgum told The Daily Wire. “They really, I’m gonna say, crushed the mining industry, both the extraction of these resources, but also the processing of that…China was happy to have the rest of the Western world stop mining so that they could take control of the markets around these critical minerals, which we need for defense, for technology, for electronics, really for everything today in modern life depends on it. So now in the United States, we&#8217;ve gotta get back in the game.”
Because President Trump made an emergency energy declaration, Secretary Burgum, who’s also the Chair of the National Energy Dominance Council, was able to bypass regulations that typically result in years-long delays on new mining projects. Now, they’ll be approved within two weeks. Burgum told the Daily Wire that overregulation of the mining industry has driven business out of the U.S. — forcing us to be more reliant on countries like China. Burgum says that bringing mining back to the United States will be better for the global environment. 
“We do it cleaner, better, safer, smarter and healthier here in the U.S. because when we attack these resource-based industries, we don&#8217;t reduce the demand. We just shift the supply overseas and they shift it to China, who might be extracting this from in the DRC in the middle of Africa. And they&#8217;re doing it without reclamation. They&#8217;re doing it with, sometimes, slave labor, prisoner labor. They&#8217;re doing it with no emissions control on what they&#8217;re doing. So it&#8217;s worse for the global environment. It helps our adversaries, it hurts our economy, and it&#8217;s horrible for national security.”
&nbsp;
<h2>Trade War Hits U.S. Farmers</h2>
<div class="image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-914365" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/512025-3Graphic.jpeg" alt="" width="640" height="360" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/512025-3Graphic.jpeg 640w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/512025-3Graphic-300x169.jpeg 300w" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px" /></div>
Topline: President Trump continues to tout his trade policies as China makes quiet concessions, but also cancels significant U.S. agricultural orders.
A report from Reuters published Wednesday says that China has created a list of U.S.-made products that will be exempt from its retaliatory 125% tariffs, in addition to other exemptions it has already made on pharmaceuticals, microchips, and aircraft engines. Behind the scenes, Beijing is apparently privately notifying companies about these latest exemptions – that’s obviously to preserve this posture that China will fight Trump on tariffs to the end. 
Trump has said he’s <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2025/04/28/trump-xi-tariffs-china-bessent.html">in trade talks</a> with China and that President Xi recently called him. China has denied it and is publicly putting on a bold face. 
“Bowing to a bully is like drinking poison to quench thirst. It only deepens the crisis.” A widely disseminated Chinese propaganda video said earlier this week. “ Make no mistake, the U.S. will keep flip-flopping and playing hardball. But China will stand firm, no matter how hard the wind blows, no matter how clouds rage.”
Last week, China made its largest cancellation of pork orders in five years, halting about 12,000 tons of U.S. pork. The nation has also significantly reduced its soybean order by 97% compared to two weeks ago. For some context, U.S. farmers export more than $176 billion in agricultural products a year. Nearly 10% of that is soybeans and pork for China.

MorningWire_THUMB

Morning Brief: Investment Up, GDP Down, & Drill, Baby, Drill

Economy

Farmers

Trade War

The Departments of the Interior (DOI) and Housing and Urban Development (HUD) are creating a taskforce to study how federal land could be used to alleviate America’s housing shortage.
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and HUD chief Scott Turner announced the partnership between their departments on Monday in a clip posted to social media. The two cabinet secretaries signed an agreement to begin work on tackling “our nation’s housing affordability crisis.”
“HUD will work with DOI to assess the housing needs in areas where federal lands may. Available yet underutilized and implement tailored housing programs with guidance from states and localities,” Turner said.
Burgum added: “This partnership will identify underutilized federal lands suitable for residential development and streamline the land transfer process. It will also promote policies to increase the availability of affordable housing while balancing important environmental and land use considerations.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
We need 7 million affordable homes in America and 20% of America’s landmass is owned by the Department of Interior. 
Today, <a href="https://twitter.com/SecretaryBurgum?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SecretaryBurgum</a> and I are announcing a partnership between <a href="https://twitter.com/HUDgov?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@HUDgov</a> &amp; <a href="https://twitter.com/Interior?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Interior</a> to identify and open under utilized federal lands for affordable housing. <a href="https://t.co/p1EU04Ay7B">pic.twitter.com/p1EU04Ay7B</a>
&mdash; Scott Turner (@SecretaryTurner) <a href="https://twitter.com/SecretaryTurner/status/1901634637606035462?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 17, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The federal government owns about a quarter of the land inside the United States, and most of that land is located in the western regions of the country. The Bureau of Land Management, which resides within the Department of the Interior, is responsible for overseeing much of that land.
The effort to build millions of new homes, if it proves workable, would be one of the largest housing efforts in United States history. Past attempts have been unsuccessful, however, largely due to disagreements between officials at the various levels of government involved in such an undertaking, according to <a href="https://www.wsj.com/economy/housing/trump-wants-to-build-homes-on-federal-land-heres-what-that-would-look-like-6b8fb82e" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Wall Street Journal</a>.
The housing plan would likely focus on federal lands around major cities such as Las Vegas, Phoenix, and Salt Lake City, according to experts. A preliminary analysis by a conservative think tank, the American Enterprise Institute, found that housing developments on just 512,000 acres of the federal government’s roughly 640 million acres would result in three to four million homes.
Burgum and Turner outlined the agreement in an <a href="https://www.wsj.com/opinion/federal-land-can-be-home-sweet-home-joint-task-force-hud-interior-department-housing-affordability-3a281d36?mod=article_inline" target="_blank" rel="noopener">op-ed</a> in The Wall Street Journal on Sunday.
“HUD will pinpoint where housing needs are most pressing and guide the process by working with state and local leaders who know their communities best. Interior will identify locations that can support homes while carefully considering environmental impact and land-use restrictions,” the secretaries wrote.
“Streamlining the regulatory process is a cornerstone of this partnership. Historically, building on federal land is a nightmare of red tape—lengthy environmental reviews, complex transfer protocols and disjointed agency priorities. This partnership will cut through the bureaucracy,” they continued. “This isn’t a free-for-all to build on federal lands, although we recognize that bad-faith critics will likely call it that. It’s a strategic effort to use our resources responsibly while preserving our most beautiful lands.”

Las Vegas

Burgum, Turner Announce Taskforce To Tackle ‘Housing Affordability Crisis’ In U.S.

Housing

Governor Doug Burgum Visits FOX Business Network’s “The Big Money Show”

Make America Beautiful Again: An Interview With Doug Burgum, Secretary Of The Interior

Cabinet

China

Department of Interior

Elon Musk

interview

Nuclear

President Trump

Technology

Trump Administration

Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum pulled back the curtain on the first cabinet meeting of the new Trump administration in a Sunday edition of Morning Wire.
Burgum, the former tech CEO and governor of North Dakota, told Daily Wire Editor-in-Chief John Bickley that he felt the excitement in the room on Wednesday, praising Trump for hiring a &#8220;great team&#8221; and giving agency heads a &#8220;clear direction&#8221; to fulfill the administration&#8217;s promises to the American people.
&#8220;I look around that room and a number of those folks are friends of mine, people that I&#8217;ve known, people that have had great success in the private sector, people that are making big sacrifices to come and do public service working for the government to try to solve these problems that people think are intractable, like our $2 trillion deficit. He&#8217;s empowering everybody,&#8221; Burgum said.
&#8220;I felt the energy in the room was electric. People were excited to be there, to be in the cabinet room, to be part of this historic team,&#8221; he added. &#8220;And I think the amount of talent in the room is really, really high. And I&#8217;m very excited about what everybody&#8217;s going to get done and get done working together for the American people.&#8221;
The secretary was also asked about the cabinet&#8217;s reaction to Trump&#8217;s senior adviser, Elon Musk, as critics continue to express concern over Musk&#8217;s influence on the administration. During the cabinet meeting, Trump asked if any agency leaders were &#8220;unhappy with Elon,&#8221; a question to which the cabinet members responded with laughter and then applause for Musk.
<iframe style="width: 100%; max-width: 660px; overflow: hidden; border-radius: 10px;" src="https://embed.podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/interior-secretary-doug-burgum-3-2-25/id1576594336?i=1000697132299" height="175" frameborder="0" sandbox="allow-forms allow-popups allow-same-origin allow-scripts allow-storage-access-by-user-activation allow-top-navigation-by-user-activation"></iframe>
Burgum told Morning Wire that he can&#8217;t speak for everyone in the room, but he&#8217;s excited about what Musk brings to the table as a tech executive.
&#8220;Being a tech CEO is different than other categories,&#8221; Burgum said. &#8220;In tech, there are no natural barriers. No one has a monopoly &#8230; you have to be better, faster, cheaper for your customers tomorrow than you were yesterday, or you go out of business. So competition drives innovation.&#8221;
He added that the actions taken by Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) project to shake up the bureaucracy will bring a &#8220;major right-sizing of the federal government&#8221; that&#8217;s &#8220;long overdue.&#8221;
Discussing his specific priorities, Burgum said that he is focused on accomplishing the president&#8217;s goal of ramping up energy production.
&#8220;We have a chance to literally change the whole world when we change U.S. energy policy,&#8221; he said. &#8220;And that&#8217;s going to take the whole of government.&#8221;
The Department of Interior manages more than 500 million acres of public land as well as the Outer Continental Shelf, which holds roughly 68.79 billion barrels of oil and 229.03 trillion cubic feet of gas, according to federal government <a href="https://www.boem.gov/oil-and-gas-energy" target="_blank" rel="noopener">estimates</a>. Burgum said his department will also play a critical role in the Trump administration&#8217;s desire to once again tap into America&#8217;s mining and timber industries.
&#8220;Now, we&#8217;re completely dependent on our adversaries for the critical and rare earth minerals we need for technology and for defense,&#8221; he stated, adding that the United States has &#8220;a couple billion acres of offshore [resources] &#8230; that we can develop safely and securely and, and be great for our environment. So this is the balance sheet of America.&#8221;

‘We Have A Chance To Literally Change The Whole World’: Doug Burgum On The New Trump Cabinet

Media

Morning Wire

The Daily Wire

On Sunday, President <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/donald-trump" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Donald Trump</a> designated February 9 to be &#8220;Gulf of America Day,&#8221; the latest move by the commander in chief to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-announces-u-s-to-change-name-of-the-gulf-of-mexico" target="_blank" rel="noopener">rename</a> the Gulf of Mexico.
&#8220;I call upon public officials and all the people of the United States to observe this day with appropriate programs, ceremonies, and activities,&#8221; Trump said in his proclamation.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
HAPPY GULF OF AMERICA DAY! <a href="https://t.co/xmsFDUjkXB">pic.twitter.com/xmsFDUjkXB</a>
&mdash; Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1888709653111980115?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 9, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt announced on X that Trump signed the document to declare the new holiday as Air Force One flew over the gulf on the way to the Super Bowl.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
✈️MOMENTS AGO ON AF1: President Trump signed a Proclamation declaring February 9th “Gulf of America Day” while flying over the newly and appropriately named GULF OF AMERICA! 🇺🇸
📸: <a href="https://twitter.com/dto_rok?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@dto_rok</a> <a href="https://t.co/BA1f5VF3ft">pic.twitter.com/BA1f5VF3ft</a>
&mdash; Karoline Leavitt (@PressSec) <a href="https://twitter.com/PressSec/status/1888701998511390877?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 9, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&#8220;We&#8217;re flying right over it right now, so we thought this would be appropriate,&#8221; Trump <a href="https://x.com/MargoMartin47/status/1888699739509817590" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> in a video posted to X. &#8220;Even bigger than the Super Bowl, this is a big thing.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
President <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@realDonaldTrump</a> signs a Proclamation declaring February 9, 2025 as the first ever Gulf of America Day 🇺🇸
Listen as Air Force One announces a flyover of Gulf of America en route to Super Bowl LIX! <a href="https://t.co/fNk0e6l7dL">pic.twitter.com/fNk0e6l7dL</a>
&mdash; Margo Martin (@MargoMartin47) <a href="https://twitter.com/MargoMartin47/status/1888699739509817590?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 9, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Before taking office in January, Trump <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-announces-u-s-to-change-name-of-the-gulf-of-mexico" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced</a> that he would rename the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America. He took aim at Mexico, raising issues with trade deficits and cartels.
And, on the day of his inauguration, Trump <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/restoring-names-that-honor-american-greatness/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">signed</a> an order directing the Interior secretary to &#8220;take all appropriate actions&#8221; to rename the U.S. Continental Shelf area as the Gulf of America.
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, who was with Trump in Air Force One on Sunday, <a href="https://x.com/secretaryburgum/status/1888701693707035001?s=46&amp;t=o-U3qwC25WnWaylJ0oeG7Q" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> that his department had implemented the president&#8217;s instructions from the executive order.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
It&#39;s official! Congratulations <a href="https://twitter.com/POTUS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@POTUS</a> on the Gulf of America! <a href="https://twitter.com/Interior?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Interior</a> has implemented your instruction from the Executive Order on Restoring Names That Honor American Greatness. Another big win for President Trump&#39;s agenda to Make America Great Again. 🇺🇸 <a href="https://t.co/nZtkDQTFO3">pic.twitter.com/nZtkDQTFO3</a>
&mdash; Secretary Doug Burgum (@SecretaryBurgum) <a href="https://twitter.com/SecretaryBurgum/status/1888701693707035001?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 9, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&#8220;Another big win for President Trump&#8217;s agenda to Make America Great Again,&#8221; Burgum <a href="https://x.com/secretaryburgum/status/1888701693707035001?s=46&amp;t=o-U3qwC25WnWaylJ0oeG7Q" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> in a post to X, which also featured a U.S. Geological Survey map showing the Gulf of America.
Mike Waltz, who is Trump&#8217;s national security adviser, posted a photo looking out a window on Air Force One and said, &#8220;Nothing like the first flight of Air Force One over the Gulf of America!&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Nothing like the first flight of Air Force One over the Gulf of America! 🇺🇸 <a href="https://t.co/pnGvsfUzfl">pic.twitter.com/pnGvsfUzfl</a>
&mdash; Mike Waltz (@MikeWaltz47) <a href="https://twitter.com/MikeWaltz47/status/1888707639057563890?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 9, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Rep. <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/marjorie-taylor-greene" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Marjorie Taylor Greene</a> (R-GA) has <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/republicans-offer-bills-to-realize-trumps-ideas-for-gulf-of-america-and-taking-back-panama-canal" target="_blank" rel="noopener">unveiled</a> a bill to ensure references in U.S. law, maps, and other records to the Gulf of Mexico are deemed to be references to the Gulf of America.
In response to Trump signing his Gulf of America holiday proclamation, Greene <a href="https://x.com/RepMTG/status/1888713151044088184" target="_blank" rel="noopener">called</a> on Congress to pass her legislation so &#8220;a future America Last Democrat can’t change it back!&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
HAPPY GULF OF AMERICA DAY!! 🇺🇸 
Aboard Air Force One today, <a href="https://twitter.com/POTUS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@POTUS</a> signed a proclamation declaring 2/9/25 the first Gulf of America Day.
Congress needs to pass my bill renaming the Gulf of America, so a future America Last Democrat can’t change it back! <a href="https://t.co/UEGxEq4XfV">pic.twitter.com/UEGxEq4XfV</a>
&mdash; Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene🇺🇸 (@RepMTG) <a href="https://twitter.com/RepMTG/status/1888713151044088184?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 9, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Trump threatened to institute 25% tariffs on imports from Mexico earlier this month, but <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-pauses-tariffs-on-mexico-after-it-agrees-to-send-thousands-of-troops-to-border" target="_blank" rel="noopener">paused</a> the plan after the country sent troops to its border with the U.S. to stop drug trafficking.
Canada also <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trudeau-caves-to-trump-canada-to-ensure-border-security-after-tariff-threats" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sent</a> troops to its border with the U.S., a move that averted tariffs for at least a month, like with Mexico. Meanwhile, the U.S. and China have begun a series of tit-for-tat levies.

‘We’re Flying Over It Right Now!’: Trump Creates New Holiday En Route To Super Bowl

Gulf of Mexico

Holiday

Mexico

Super Bowl

On Thursday, the GOP-led <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/u-s-senate" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Senate</a> confirmed former <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/north-dakota" target="_blank" rel="noopener">North Dakota</a> Governor and businessman <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/doug-burgum" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Doug Burgum</a> to become Interior secretary, a big step forward for President <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/donald-trump" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Donald Trump</a>&#8216;s &#8220;energy dominance&#8221; agenda.
The final vote was 79-18, with many Democrat members joining with their Republican colleagues in supporting Burgum&#8217;s nomination to the Cabinet role in Trump&#8217;s second term. Another three senators did not vote.
On X, Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) said he looked forward to working with Burgum to &#8220;protect our public lands and leverage some of America’s greatest assets for a safer, more prosperous future.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Governor Burgum knows that America’s natural resources are our greatest national asset.
I look forward to working with him to protect our public lands and leverage some of America’s greatest assets for a safer, more prosperous future. <a href="https://t.co/wdQWN13hqi">pic.twitter.com/wdQWN13hqi</a>
&mdash; Leader John Thune (@LeaderJohnThune) <a href="https://twitter.com/LeaderJohnThune/status/1885065469641547987?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 30, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Burgum ran for the Republican presidential nomination in the 2024 race, but dropped out and endorsed Trump. He was <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-says-hes-decided-on-a-running-mate-expects-this-person-to-attend-debate" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reportedly</a> a finalist to become Trump&#8217;s running mate before now-Vice President JD Vance got the nod.
In November, Trump <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-picks-burgum-for-secretary-of-interior" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced</a> that he picked Burgum to lead the Department of Interior, which manages public lands and deals with Native American relations, as well as a new National Energy Council.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
🚨 STATEMENT FROM PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP: <a href="https://t.co/F0M9AQa5yB">pic.twitter.com/F0M9AQa5yB</a>
&mdash; Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) <a href="https://twitter.com/TrumpWarRoom/status/1857517744071258534?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 15, 2024</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&#8220;Doug Burgum will protect our Nation’s Natural Resources, restore our fabulous Oil and Gas advantage, and Make America, and its Energy, Dominant and Great Again!&#8221; Trump said in a statement.
In his confirmation hearing for Interior, Burgum <a href="https://x.com/TrumpWarRoom/status/1879918653526987023" target="_blank" rel="noopener">testified</a> about Trump&#8217;s &#8220;energy dominance&#8221; vision. He <a href="https://x.com/i/status/1879938205853569190" target="_blank" rel="noopener">argued</a> that shutting down U.S. energy production to help the global environment was a &#8220;false tradeoff.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Interior Secretary nominee Doug Burgum on how he would help to make President-elect Trump&#39;s vision of American energy dominance come to fruition. <a href="https://t.co/FtDPITYafu">pic.twitter.com/FtDPITYafu</a>
&mdash; CSPAN (@cspan) <a href="https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1879938205853569190?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 16, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Burgum advanced out of committee by an <a href="https://x.com/environment/status/1882444311200948455" target="_blank" rel="noopener">18-2 vote</a>. His final confirmation vote was very bipartisan, but it fell short of the unanimous show of support that Secretary of State <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/marco-rubio" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Marco Rubio</a> received.
CIA Director <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/john-ratcliffe" target="_blank" rel="noopener">John Ratcliffe</a>, Defense Secretary <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/pete-hegseth" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Pete Hegseth</a>, DHS Secretary <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/kristi-noem" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kristi Noem</a>, Treasury Secretary <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/senate-confirms-trumps-pick-for-treasury-secretary" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Scott Bessent</a>, Transportation Secretary <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/senate-confirms-sean-duffy-as-trumps-transportation-secretary" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Sean Duffy</a>, and EPA head <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/senate-confirms-lee-zeldin-to-be-trumps-epa-administrator" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Lee Zeldin</a> have also been confirmed.
Other nominees are still working their way through the Senate. Democrats have sought to impede the confirmation process, such as forcing procedural votes, an effort that has earned stern rebukes from the GOP.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
By Jan. 30th, Obama had 22 members of his admin confirmed, 19 of which were expedited votes.
As of this morning, Trump has 7 confirmed, &amp; today, Democrats are delaying yet another confirmation vote.
I’ve got news for Dems: late nights and long hours won’t stop us. We WILL…
&mdash; Rick Scott (@SenRickScott) <a href="https://twitter.com/SenRickScott/status/1885040861328597162?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 30, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Among the next Cabinet picks <a href="https://x.com/SenatePPG/status/1884999937265451106" target="_blank" rel="noopener">poised</a> to get a confirmation vote is Christopher Wright, Trump&#8217;s <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-taps-pioneer-chris-wright-to-lead-energy-department" target="_blank" rel="noopener">nominee</a> to lead the Department of Energy. Wright was also chosen to serve as a member of the National Energy Council.
&#8220;This team will drive U.S. Energy Dominance, which will drive down Inflation, win the A.I. arms race with China (and others), and expand American Diplomatic Power to end Wars all across the World,&#8221; Trump <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-taps-pioneer-chris-wright-to-lead-energy-department" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>.

Senate Confirms Trump’s ‘Energy Dominance’ Champion Doug Burgum For Interior

Congress

Interior Department

Cabinet-Burgum

Burgum, Bessent, And Zeldin Are Latest Trump Noms To Face Senate: Live Updates

Treasury Department

Former North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum will lay out his vision for bringing on a new era of American energy dominance in the opening remarks of his Thursday morning confirmation hearing, according to a copy of his prepared remarks obtained by The Daily Wire.
Burgum is President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to serve as the next secretary of the Department of the Interior. During his nomination hearing on Thursday, Burgum is expected to tell senators that energy dominance can be America’s “big stick” on the world stage.
After laying out his background and experience, Burgum will endorse a “big stick” approach to energy and production, a reference to former President Theodore Roosevelt’s advice to “speak softly and carry a big stick.”
“When energy production is restricted in America, it doesn’t reduce demand, it just shifts production to countries like Russia, Venezuela, and Iran – whose autocratic leaders don’t care about the environment,” Burgum will say.
“In our time, President Trump’s Energy Dominance can be America’s ‘big stick’ that is leveraged to achieve historic prosperity and world peace. The Department of the Interior – in cooperation with U.S. Congress, this committee, and the states – will play a pivotal role in achieving the outcomes to make the world safer and America even better for our children, grandchildren, and generations to come,” Burgum will say.
The former North Dakota governor will recount his life growing up in a small town in North Dakota to running a global company before he served in public office for the first time in 2016 as his state’s governor. 
&#8220;Growing up I worked at our family’s grain elevator. Every job I had through college was one that required showering at the end of the day — not the beginning. This included paying my way through North Dakota State University by working as a chimney sweep,&#8221; he will say.
Burgum will highlight his experience working to manage North Dakota’s lands and natural resources while improving relations with its tribes.
&#8220;In North Dakota, we created a prosperous economy by sustainably developing our natural resources with respect for our land and wildlife while having among the cleanest air and water in the country. During our tenure, North Dakota experienced among the lowest unemployment in the nation and top real GDP growth. Demographically, we went from one of the oldest states to the youngest. And we attracted record levels of talent and investment capital,&#8221; Burgum will say.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
EXCLUSIVE FIRST LOOK &#8212; <a href="https://twitter.com/DougBurgum?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@DougBurgum</a> will pledge in his opening remarks to prioritize &quot;INNOVATION over regulation&quot; to achieve &quot;energy dominance&quot; for America 
According to a copy of his remarks obtained by <a href="https://twitter.com/realDailyWire?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@realDailyWire</a>, Burgum will say that Trump achieving energy dominance has…
&mdash; Brent Scher (@BrentScher) <a href="https://twitter.com/BrentScher/status/1879732669082157106?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 16, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

EXCLUSIVE: Doug Burgum To Lay Out How American Energy Dominance Can Unlock ‘World Peace’

EXCLUSIVE: Doug Burgum: Trump’s Energy Dominance Agenda The Key To ‘World Peace’

President-elect <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/donald-trump" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Donald Trump</a> nominated North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum on Friday for two positions in his new administration.
Trump said Burgum was joining the administration &#8220;as both Secretary of the Interior and, as Chairman of the newly formed, and very important, National Energy Council, which will consist of all Departments and Agencies involved in the permitting, production, generation, distribution, regulation, transportation, of ALL forms of American Energy.&#8221;
&#8220;This Council will oversee the path to U.S. ENERGY DOMINANCE by cutting red tape, enhancing private sector investments across all sectors of the Economy, and by focusing on INNOVATION over longstanding, but totally unnecessary, regulation,&#8221; he continued. &#8220;With U.S. Energy Dominance, we will drive down Inflation, win the A.I. arms race with China (and others), and expand American Diplomatic Power to end Wars all across the World.&#8221;
Trump said that the Democrats&#8217; war on American energy has hurt America&#8217;s allies around the world by forcing them to buy from adversaries, like Iran and Russia, that in turn use the profits to fund war and terrorism.
&#8220;As Chairman of the National Energy Council, Doug will have a seat on the National Security Council,&#8221; he said. &#8220;As Secretary of the Interior, Doug will be a key leader in ushering in a new &#8216;Golden Age of American Prosperity&#8217; and World Peace.&#8221;
<a href="https://www.amiracist.com/?_gl=1*jtghwp*_gcl_au*ODQ1NjYzNTg2LjE3Mjg5MDk3OTE.*_ga*MTc2NzM0NDQ2NS4xNzI4OTA5Nzkx*_ga_CZKR9ZYKJP*MTczMDEyMDgwOS40OS4xLjE3MzAxMjA4MzkuMzAuMC4w" target="_blank" rel="noopener">MATT WALSH’S ‘AM I RACIST?’ NOW STREAMING ON DAILYWIRE+</a>
Trump said that unleashing American energy production was one of the keys to reducing the national debt that the U.S. is burdened by.
&#8220;We will also undo the damage done by the Democrats to our Nation’s Electrical Grid, by dramatically increasing baseload power,&#8221; he added. &#8220;This will reduce the cost of Electrical bills that continue to skyrocket for Citizens and Small Businesses under Biden-Harris, and ensure that America has the power to serve all of our needs without the devastation of blackouts and brownouts, and to WIN the battle for A.I. superiority, which is key to National Security and our Nation’s Prosperity.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
🚨 STATEMENT FROM PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP: <a href="https://t.co/F0M9AQa5yB">pic.twitter.com/F0M9AQa5yB</a>
— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) <a href="https://twitter.com/TrumpWarRoom/status/1857517744071258534?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 15, 2024</a></blockquote>

Governor Doug Burgum

Trump Nominates Burgum For Two Positions In New Admin

Menu