Doug Burgum, a promoter of oil and gas, was confirmed by the Senate on Thursday to lead the Interior Department, a role in which he will oversee drilling and mining policies on federal lands and waters.
The 79-18 vote for Mr. Burgum puts him in charge of nearly 500 million acres of public land, 1.7 billion acres of offshore waters, and more than 70,000 employees across the country tasked with protecting wildlife and endangered species, managing national parks and maintaining tribal lands.
He is expected to be a key player to implement President Trump’s “drill, baby, drill” agenda that calls for making it easier and cheaper for oil companies to operate, and loosening protections for wildlife as well as easing limits on air and water pollution.
In addition to leading the Interior Department, Mr. Burgum is also to run a White House council charged with encouraging more oil and gas development. The role of the council is still undefined but it is expected to help meet Mr. Trump’s goal of selling more American oil and gas to Europe and Asia.
During the presidential campaign, Mr. Burgum acted as a conduit between Mr. Trump and the oil and gas industry. He helped gather fossil fuel executives at Mar-a-Lago for a now-famous dinner, during which Mr. Trump suggested that industry leaders raise $1 billion for his campaign. He told the executives they would save far more than that in tax breaks and legal fees after he eliminated climate policies, according to several attendees who requested anonymity to discuss the private event.
Mr. Burgum’s role and his close ties to oil billionaires, including Harold Hamm, the founder of oil giant Continental Resources, drew criticism from many Democrats.
In written responses to lawmakers, Mr. Burgum sidestepped a question from Senator Ron Wyden, Democrat of Oregon, about whether he played a role in meetings between oil executives and Mr. Trump during the campaign where both public policy and campaign contributions were discussed. Mr. Burgum wrote that Mr. Trump’s “energy dominance message is consistent regardless of venue.”
Republicans expressed relief that Mr. Burgum would reverse policies of the Biden administration that were designed to reduce drilling and mining while increasing conservation.
Senator Mike Lee, Republican of Utah and chairman of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, accused the Biden administration and former Secretary Deb Haaland of “throttling” fossil fuels.
“Governor Doug Burgum understands what Secretary Haaland apparently forgot, that abundant affordable energy is a fundamental pillar of our national security,” he said.
Several Democrats said Mr. Burgum’s vision for unleashed fossil fuels threatens the nation.
“The Trump administration’s climate and energy policies are not a mystery; it is to exacerbate the climate crisis,” said Senator Brian Schatz, Democrat of Hawaii, who spoke against Mr. Burgum yet voted for him.
Kierán Suckling, executive director at the Center for Biological Diversity, was unsparing in his words for Democrats. “It’s alarming that so many Senate Democrats were duped into voting for an oligarch who is now charged with stewarding the nation’s public lands and wildlife,” he said. “If Democrats want to know why so many people are disillusioned, they need to look no further than this vote.”
A multimillionaire former Microsoft executive who served two terms as governor of North Dakota, Mr. Burgum ran briefly for the White House before dropping out of the race to endorse Mr. Trump and become his adviser on energy issues.
During his confirmation hearing Mr. Burgum said he viewed America’s public lands and waters as part of the country’s financial “balance sheet,” with potentially trillions of dollars worth of oil, gas and minerals waiting to be extracted beneath the surface.
“We have all this debt,” Mr. Burgum said. But “we never talk about the assets,” he said. “It’s our responsibility to get a return for the American people.”
“Not every acre of federal land is a national park or a wilderness area,” Mr. Burgum said, adding, “Some of those areas we have to absolutely protect for their precious stuff, but the rest of it, this is America’s balance sheet.”
Mr. Burgum declared that any curbs on energy production posed a national security threat and endorsed Mr. Trump’s vision of “energy dominance,” a phrase that is shorthand for more fossil fuel production.
He also insisted that the United States was in the midst of an energy crisis, even as it is producing more oil than any nation at any time in history and is the world’s leading exporter of liquefied natural gas.
Mr. Burgum said he would pursue an “all of the above” strategy but also said he would cut incentives for what he called “intermittent” power projects, referring to renewable energy like wind and solar power.
He said there has been too much so-called “intermittent” power built in recent years and not enough baseload, referring to gas or coal that can be stored and burned to produce electricity.
Emissions from the burning of fossil fuels produced on federal lands and waters account for nearly 22 percent of U.S. greenhouse gases.
