Burgum tells senators he will pursue 'energy dominance' and prioritize permitting, baseload reliability
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Summary
Nominee Doug Burgum told the Senate committee he supports President Trump's goal of 'energy dominance,' called for permitting reform, and emphasized the need to restore balance between baseload and intermittent generation while expanding transmission and LNG exports.
Doug Burgum, nominated to be secretary of the interior, described energy policy as central to national security and economic affordability and said he would work to reduce permitting delays and support a balanced electricity mix.
Nut graf: Committee members pressed Burgum on offshore leasing, lease‑sale predictability, transmission bottlenecks, LNG exports, and the department’s role in permitting and energy infrastructure. Burgum repeatedly linked energy availability to national security, affordability and industrial competitiveness.
Senator John McCormick, discussing an upcoming Energy and Innovation Summit, asked Burgum to help expand natural gas production and new export terminals. Burgum said getting transportation networks—pipelines and transmission—built is essential and emphasized the need to reduce regulatory uncertainty to bring projects online more quickly.
On the electricity mix, Burgum argued the U.S. grid is out of balance, citing a Federal Energy Regulatory queue “95% intermittent and only 5% baseload” and said that without enough baseload the nation faces brownouts or blackouts. He told Senator Angus King and others that renewables can play a large role but must be integrated with reliable baseload or storage.
Senators sought commitments on predictable lease sales, completion of permits for coal mines and offshore leasing plans. Burgum said the department should follow the law on lease sales and said he would work with senators to resolve delayed permitting; he noted litigation in some states over missed quarterly lease sales and pledged to “follow the law” on timing.
Burgum also raised low‑carbon liquid fuels, carbon capture, and domestic critical‑minerals supply as elements of a broader, technology‑neutral strategy. He said tax incentives and federal policy should be reviewed to avoid inadvertently skewing the market in ways that reduce baseload capacity.
Ending: Senators from energy states pressed Burgum for concrete plans on permitting, transmission and leasing; Burgum pledged cooperation and emphasized a mix of innovation, permitting reform and attention to national‑security implications of energy policy.