North Dakota governor charts his path to Interior with a rosy state oil and gas outlook
President-elect Donald Trump has given his choice for Interior secretary a mandate to “Drill baby drill,” and on Wednesday his pick, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, offered a rosy budget picture to lawmakers based largely on his state’s success in extracting near-record levels of oil and gas from the ground. Burgum, whose term ends next week, noted North Dakota's status as the nation's No. 3 oil-producing state in his final proposed budget before he begins his role in Trump's administration, pending Senate confirmation.