Trump Reveals Choices to Lead Interior, Veterans Affairs

He's going with a governor and an ex-congressman
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Nov 15, 2024 1:15 AM CST
Trump Announces Picks for Interior, Veterans Affairs
North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum arrives before President-elect Donald Trump at an America First Policy Institute gala at his Mar-a-Lago estate, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024, in Palm Beach, Fla.   (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

President-elect Donald Trump's latest Cabinet picks are two Dougs:

  • Department of the Interior: Trump will nominate North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, whom the Washington Post calls an "aggressive champion of the oil industry." The 67-year-old briefly ran for president this cycle, but his campaign only lasted from June until December of 2023, the AP reports. Burgum was a wealthy software executive, heading up a company that was ultimately acquired by Microsoft, before being elected governor in 2016—the first time he'd ever run for any public office. He was reelected in 2020. The Post says he's expected to move forward with Trump's vision of dismantling federal climate policies that limit drilling and burning fossil fuels, among other things.

  • Department of Veterans Affairs: Trump will nominate Doug Collins to head up the second-largest federal agency; the former House of Representatives member from Georgia left Congress in 2021, NBC News reports. Collins is an Air Force reservist who was deployed to Iraq in 2008. "Doug is a Veteran himself, who currently serves our Nation as a Chaplain in the United States Air Force Reserve Command, and fought for our Country in the Iraq War," Trump said in a statement. "We must take care of our brave men and women in uniform, and Doug will be a great advocate for our Active Duty Servicemembers, Veterans, and Military Families to ensure they have the support they need."
(More President-elect Trump stories.)

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