Interior secretary backs Trumpadministrationbudget; senators warn cuts would cripple agencies and tribal programs

Secretary Doug Burgum told the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on the opening day of the FY2026 hearing that President Trumps budget requests $14.4 billion in current authority for the Department of the Interior and aims to prioritize energy production, streamlined operations and reduced overhead.

The committee's ranking member, Sen. Martin Heinrich, said the cuts proposed in the request would leave the department unable to meet its mission, citing reductions he said were about 30% across some programs and near-40% for the U.S. Geological Survey. "This proposal would kneecap the scientific research we need to understand how our natural world is changing in the face of a changing climate," Heinrich said during his opening statement, warning the budget would "do irreparable harm to Indian country" by cutting the…