Interior secretary defends FY2026 cuts, proposes new wildland fire service and land-sales for housing; Democrats warn of risks to parks, science and tribes

Secretary Doug Burgum, the U.S. secretary of the interior, appeared before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee to defend President Trump’s fiscal 2026 budget request and outline policy changes the department would pursue if the plan is enacted.

The administration’s request calls for roughly $14.4 billion in current authority for the Interior Department and includes deep cuts to agency programs alongside structural changes, including creation of a new U.S. Wildland Fire Service and a program to identify and dispose of some low-value federal lands near cities to help address housing shortages. "The department oversees onshore and offshore energy resources, honors federal trust responsibilities with our tribal neighbors, delivers water to the West, oversees wildlife refuges and national parks," Secretary Burgum told the committee in his opening remarks.

Why it matters: The committee’s Democratic members said the scale of proposed reductions — which they summarized as 30% across Interior operations and steep cuts to individual bureaus — would undermine visitor services, scientific monitoring, tribal services and water infrastructure. "This budget request will not resource your department to responsibly steward our lands and waters," said Senator Martin Heinrich, the committee’s ranking member.

Most important facts

- Budget request and scale: The administration requests $14.4 billion in current authority for the Department of the Interior for fiscal 2026; committee members noted the department’s prior-year budget was described in testimony as $16 billion. Senators cited proposed cuts of about 30% to overall Interior operations, roughly 35% to the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and nearly 40% to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). Critics warned the reductions would shrink or eliminate programs such as USGS biological resources, WaterSMART grants and other research and monitoring efforts.

- Wildland fire reorganization: The administration proposes consolidating federal wildland fire responsibilities currently spread across multiple Interior bureaus into a single, centralized U.S. Wildland Fire Service inside Interior. Burgum said the change seeks operational efficiencies and a unified response. "We would unify federal wildland fire responsibilities into a new centralized, U.S. Wildland Fire Service," he said. Senators of both parties pressed for detail on how the change would affect pay, deployment and interagency coordination.

- Land sales and housing: Burgum and senators discussed using statutory frameworks to make some low‑value federal tracts available for development near fast‑growing cities. Burgum cited the Southern Nevada Lands Act and said small transactions can yield meaningful proceeds: "Only 41 acres were sold. 41 acres produced $16,750,000 back to the federal government," he said, describing land sales used in Las Vegas-area projects. Senators pressed for commitments to a transparent public process before any disposals occur.

- Energy, leasing and critical minerals: The secretary described steps to increase onshore and offshore energy production, expedite leasing, and support mining for critical and rare earth minerals to strengthen domestic supply chains. He said the department is working on a permitting transparency dashboard and has piloted faster environmental reviews. Burgum tied energy production and mineral processing to national security and economic competitiveness.

- Parks, staffing and deferred maintenance: Democrats warned the budget would force deep service reductions at national park units and hamper seasonal hiring; they cited a deferred maintenance backlog estimated in testimony at about $33 billion. Senators pressed for better data on visitation and staff deployment. "This is ready, fire, aim," Senator John Hickenlooper said of the pace of the budget proposal and the information provided to Congress.

- Tribal and Indian Country programs: Committee Democrats said the proposal’s deep cuts to the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Bureau of Indian Education would jeopardize treaty obligations and public safety programs in Indian Country. Burgum said the department intends to uphold trust responsibilities and listed BIA and BIE among programs supported in his opening remarks.

What senators asked for and next steps

- More data and project lists: Several senators asked for detailed, itemized data — including visitation and staffing by park unit, a priority list for Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) projects, and a site list for any park units being considered for transfer or disposition. Senators said they will submit follow‑up questions for the record.

- Public process for land sales: Burgum pledged that potential land disposals would follow a public process and would not include national parks. Senators from Western states emphasized that any sale program should emulate locally tailored models such as the Southern Nevada Lands Act or the Federal Land Transaction Facilitation mechanisms where appropriate.

- Wildfire season readiness: Burgum said there is no hiring freeze for wildland firefighters and that combined federal firefighting staffing is comparable to last year, and he described joint briefings with the Forest Service and plans to improve early deployment and technology for firefighting.

What remained undecided or under discussion

Committee members from both parties pressed for concrete lists and timelines: which park units would be affected by budget reductions, which lands are under consideration for disposal, and how consolidation of wildfire responsibilities would be implemented in practice. Burgum repeatedly asked for more time to produce data the department does not yet have in machine‑readable form.

Ending note

The hearing closed with senators from both parties acknowledging competing priorities: the committee chair and ranking member said they expected follow‑up questions and additional material. Lawmakers requested written responses and if needed additional testimony before votes on appropriations or authorizing measures are taken.