Trump announces North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum as Secretary of the Interior

President-elect Trump teased a “big” announcement Thursday night, sharing that North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum will lead the Interior Department.

“He will be announced (Friday) … I look forward to making the formal announcement, although this is actually a pretty big announcement right now,” Trump said during his speech at the Americans For Prosperity Gala in Mar-a-Lago d . Thursday. “He’s going to lead the Home Office and he’s going to be great.”

“We will reduce regulatory waste, fraud and inefficiency,” Trump said. “We will clean out the corrupt, broken and failing bureaucracies. And we will stop child sexual mutilation. We will stop it because it is time.”

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President-elect Trump attends the America First Policy Institute Gala held at Mar-a-Lago on Thursday in Palm Beach, Fla. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Burgum, a multi-millionaire former software company CEO turned two-term governor, launched a White House bid in June 2023.

Bergum made energy and natural resources a key part of his campaign for the GOP nomination.

After reaching the stage at the first two GOP presidential debates, Burgum failed to qualify for the third showdown last fall and dropped out of the White House race last December. A month later, he appeared in Iowa with Trump, endorsing the former president for the GOP nomination, days before the first caucuses in the country.

Former President Trump, left, listens as North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum speaks during a Nevada Republican caucus in Las Vegas on Feb. 8. (Ian Maule/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Burgum became a high-profile surrogate for the former president, appearing on the campaign trail and in media hits on Trump’s behalf.

He was considered as Trump’s running mate last summer before Sen. JD Vance of Ohio was selected as the Republican Party’s vice presidential nominee.

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Burgum said in an interview with “Fox and Friends” last week that Trump’s election victory was “game changing” and that “we’ve got a new sheriff in town.”

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The governor added that a Trump victory also “means that America will be dominant in energy.”

“America is going to be dominant in energy, which is key to all the diplomacy we do around the world,” he said.