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Doug Burgum

Doug Burgum

United States Secretary of the Interior

Appears in 5 stories

Born: 1956 (age 69 years), Arthur, ND
Office: United States Secretary of the Interior
Education: Stanford Graduate School of Business (1978–1980), North Dakota State University (1978), and Stanford University
Previous office: Governor of North Dakota (2016–2024)
Siblings: Bradley J. Burgum

Notable Quotes

"Today's action addresses emerging national security risks, including the rapid evolution of the relevant adversary technologies, and the vulnerabilities created by large-scale offshore wind projects with proximity near our east coast population centers."

"The Department of Defense has conclusively determined that large offshore wind farms have created radar interference that creates a genuine risk for the US, especially our east coast population centers."

"The Department of Defense has conclusively determined that large offshore wind farms have created radar interference that creates a genuine risk for the US, especially our east coast population centers." (Fox Business interview, December 2025)

Stories

Trump's war on offshore wind

Rule Changes

Facing fifth consecutive legal defeat as federal judges uniformly reject offshore wind suspensions; Interior Department deciding whether to appeal or pivot to blocking future permitting

Five federal judges delivered consecutive defeats to Trump's offshore wind freeze between January 13 and February 2, 2026, granting preliminary injunctions to all five East Coast projects—Revolution Wind, Empire Wind, Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind, Vineyard Wind, Sunrise Wind—representing over $25 billion in investment and 6+ gigawatts of capacity. All five projects are now operating under court orders.

Updated May 16

Trump freezes $28 billion in east coast wind farms

Rule Changes

Lost all five preliminary injunction hearings; no appeals filed as of February 10; judges across political spectrum questioned national security rationale as pretextual

On December 22, 2025, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum paused all major offshore wind construction on the East Coast: Vineyard Wind, Revolution Wind, Sunrise Wind, Empire Wind, and Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind. These five projects, representing $28 billion in investment and enough power for millions of homes, halted on orders from Washington citing radar interference and national security risks near military installations.

Updated May 16

The Western Arctic rule war: BLM’s 2024 NPR-A protections are officially gone

Rule Changes

Overseeing the NPR-A regulatory rollback and leasing restart

BLM's rollback of the 2024 NPR-A protections isn't new news—but today is when it becomes real. As of December 17, 2025, the rescission is officially in effect, wiping out the Biden-era rule that tried to hardwire stronger guardrails into how the Western Arctic gets developed.

Updated May 15

Trump turns the southern border into military ground

Force in Play

Overseeing transfer of public lands into border military zones

Donald Trump has quietly turned long stretches of the southern border into de facto military bases. Under a new system of National Defense Areas, soldiers can stop migrants, hold them, and help prosecutors charge them as trespassers on military land.

Updated May 11

Trump’s permitting crackdown strands U.S. wind and solar boom

Rule Changes

Key architect of permitting policies that stall large wind and solar projects

Trump promised to "unleash American energy." Since January 2025, his administration has approved just one major solar project on federal land, and none at all since Interior Secretary Doug Burgum demanded personal sign-off on every renewable decision.

Updated May 10