Trump picks North Dakota leader for key land management role at fancy Florida event

At a fancy Mar-a-Lago party Donald Trump made a surprise pick for Interior Secretary - Doug Burgum the business-minded North Dakota governor (whose software company background made him super-rich)

The black-tie event brought together some well-known faces: tech boss Elon Musk and movie star Sylvester Stallone were there to see Trump - wearing a tux - tell everyone about his choice. “Its going to be fantastic“ Trump said about his pick who will manage Americas huge federal lands

The role means big changes for land-use rules: Burgum will control 500-million acres of federal and tribal areas. The job includes changing current rules that focus on clean-energy projects; experts think heʼll push for more oil-and-gas work instead. Numbers show drilling permits dropped about 16% since 2020 - something the new pick might want to fix

The public has given us a mandate that could not be more clear; the people have spoken the people want change

The whole thing showed how Burgum went from Trump rival to supporter: after giving up on his own try for president he became a big Trump fan showing up at fund-raisers and talking good about him on TV. Trump seemed happy with everything at the party saying “Nobody knew we were gonna win it the way we won it“