Jan. 16 (UPI) — Former North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum is before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on Thursday, seeking confirmation as the secretary of the interior. Burgum challenged President-elect Donald Trump in the Republican primary before quickly bowing out and endorsing him. Trump refers to Burgum as his pick for White House “energy czar.”
Trump has also selected Burgum to chair the National Energy Council, a new advisory board Trump plans to commission.
The hearing began on Capitol Hill at 10 a.m. EST.
The hearing was originally slated for Tuesday but Burgum’s financial disclosure and ethics agreement, among other documents, were not received by committee Democrats, prompting a delay.
If confirmed, Burgum would lead several agencies including the Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Indian Affairs and the National Park Service. Deb Haaland currently serves in this role.
“Being selected to lead the U.S. Department of the Interior is an incredible honor and an enormous responsibility, and I’m deeply grateful to President Trump for this opportunity to serve the American people in such a broad capacity,” Burgum said in a statement after being nominated.
After challenging Trump in the primary, Burgum was reportedly on the shortlist as a potential running mate, a position that ultimately went to J.D. Vance.
During his primary campaign, Burgum echoed Trump’s energy policies, supporting relaxing regulations and pursuing more fossil fuel usage.
Burgum is a tech entrepreneur who sold a software business to Microsoft.