BISMARCK, N.D. (news agencies) — When North Dakota’s petroleum association was going to hold a banquet honoring top fracking executives last year, it turned to Gov. Doug Burgum. The two-term Republican, now President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Interior Department, co-hosted the event — at the governor’s mansion.
And when energy industry lobbyists were looking for help taking on Biden administration greenhouse gas rules, they also turned to Burgum. In an email to Burgum’s office seeking the legal heft the state could provide, an industry lobbyist argued that “combating” such regulations required “a one-two punch” from industry and government.
While it is not surprising that the governor of the third-largest oil producing state would have a close relationship with fossil fuel producers, records obtained by the media reveal Burgum’s administration eagerly assisted the industry even as the governor was profiting from the lease of family land to oil companies. And his assistance came at a time when Burgum was leaning on those very connections to build his national profile in the Republican Party.
Now that he’s been confirmed to run the Interior Department, Burgum will have vast control over federal lands, including the issuance of oil and gas leases, as well as a mandate from Trump to extract such resources even though the U.S. is producing record amounts of fossil fuels.
Those ties concern Democrats and environmentalists who say his zeal to expand drilling was “troubling.”
“Are you going to protect our resources, or are you going to ‘drill, baby, drill?’” Sen. Mazie Hirono, a Hawaii Democrat, asked during Burgum’s confirmation hearing this month.
The selection of Burgum, who briefly pursued the presidency in 2023 before endorsing Trump, represents an abrupt pivot from Biden’s emphasis on combating climate change. It also signals that Trump intends to follow through on a proposal made last spring when he urged oil and gas CEOs to donate $1 billion to his campaign in exchange for the dismantling of Biden’s environmental agenda.
The White House did not respond to a request for comment, and a spokesman for Burgum declined to make him available for an interview.
“Governor Burgum worked tirelessly to build a prosperous economy in North Dakota,” spokesman Rob Lockwood said in a statement. “This economic growth included sustainably developing natural resources. As governor, he met with job creators and leaders who generated opportunities for the people of North Dakota.”
Under the partisan glare of Washington, and faced with stricter federal ethics rules governing conflicts of interest, Burgum has pledged to sell his interest in his family’s lease with the shale oil giant Continental Resources, as well as another one with Hess, a Chevron subsidiary. He has also pledged to sell stock held in a handful of energy companies, some of which he interacted with as governor, which are worth as much as $200,000 according to his 2023 financial disclosures.
There is perhaps no better demonstration of Burgum’s close ties to oil and gas producers than his friendship with Harold Hamm, the founder of Continental Resources who is responsible for much of North Dakota’s fracking boom. The billionaire Oklahoma wildcatter advises Trump on energy policy and is widely viewed as playing a role in helping Burgum secure the nomination to lead Interior.
Hamm did not respond to a request for comment made through his company.
During his 2023 state-of-the-state speech, Burgum likened Hamm to Teddy Roosevelt for his “grit, resilience, hard work and determination” that he said “changed North Dakota and our nation.” The shout-out came after Hamm had donated $50 million toward a library honoring Roosevelt in western North Dakota — a passion project of Burgum’s.
The documents obtained by news agencies reveal that several months later Hamm gifted Burgum a set of cuff links along with a note thanking Burgum for his “friendship” and willingness to take a break from the “grueling task” of running for president to speak at an energy conference that Hamm had hosted in Oklahoma City.
These were not his only displays of patronage. Though Burgum, an independently wealthy former software company CEO, had a dim chance of winning the Republican presidential primary, Hamm’s Continental Resources contributed $250,000 in the summer of 2023 to a super PAC supporting Burgum, campaign finance disclosures show. He also contributed to Burgum’s campaign for governor.
Emails between Burgum and Hamm’s offices reveal the two communicated often.
In a May 2020 email, Hamm’s executive assistant asked if Burgum had time to talk with Hamm and shared a briefing document that railed against wind power, blasting wind turbines as a blight on “our special places and sacred lands” while excoriating tax breaks for wind energy providers as “unconscionable.”
“This does NOTHING to Make America Great Again!” the document states.
Though Burgum set a goal in 2021 to make North Dakota carbon-neutral by 2030, he has adopted Hamm’s tone. During his Senate confirmation hearing this month, he was dismissive of renewable energy, such as wind power, suggesting such sources were unreliable when compared to fossil fuels.
In early 2023, as Hamm prepared to publish a memoir, Continental lobbyist Blu Hulsey emailed to ask if Burgum could write a blurb praising the book, the newly obtained records show. Burgum happily complied, heaping praise on the memoir, which the governor called “an inspiring story worthy of sharing.” Burgum added that Hamm’s impact was “immeasurable.”
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