Trump taps Doug Burgum, pro-Israel governor with settler ties, as interior secretary
North Dakota governor visited West Bank in September, told local leader he supports Jewish communities facing terror threats in territory, which he called war’s ‘seventh front’
US President-elect Donald Trump nominated North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum as interior secretary in his incoming cabinet, marking another pro-Israel appointment by the former president.
Burgum visited Israel and West Bank settlements in September, calling the West Bank “the seventh front” of Israel’s ongoing war against Hamas, Hezbollah, Iran and several Iranian proxies.
During his visit alongside Binyamin Regional Council head Israel Ganz, he expressed solidarity with settler communities facing terror threats in the West Bank but did not explicitly support the controversial enterprise, unlike some of Trump’s other recent appointees.
“At a time when Iran is at war with Israel on seven fronts, in the wake of Hamas brutally executing six hostages, including one American citizen, and as Israelis continue to battle the daily attacks from Hezbollah on their northern border, now is the time to stand with Israel – in Israel,” Burgum said in a statement following his visit.
“We need to stop the current administration’s policy of appeasing Iran and pressuring Israel, and restore the policy of maximum pressure on Iran with maximum support for Israel. We’re thankful to the Republican Jewish Coalition for the opportunity to visit Israel on this solidarity mission.”
Burgum, 67, grew up in tiny Arthur, North Dakota, population 328. He earned a bachelor’s degree from North Dakota State University and his master’s of business administration from the Stanford University Graduate School of Business.
Met with Binyamin Region Governor Israel Ganz and his team to hear about the terror threats facing Jewish families in Judea and Samaria – the often overlooked seventh front where Iran is waging war against Israel. These brave Israeli soldiers are deployed to keep Jewish… pic.twitter.com/OQ4RLdzxNT
— Doug Burgum (@DougBurgum) September 22, 2024
He went on to become a wealthy software executive. He led Great Plains Software, which Microsoft acquired for $1.1 billion in 2001. Burgum stayed on as a vice president until 2007. He’s also led other companies in real estate development and venture capital.
In 2016, Burgum ran for governor, his first campaign for elected office. He touted a message of “reinventing” government as the state dealt with a massive revenue shortfall.
In a major upset, Burgum defeated North Dakota’s longtime attorney general in the Republican gubernatorial primary. He handily won his first term in the strongly Republican state, which has about 784,000 residents.
He was easily reelected in 2020.
Burgum has taken a business-oriented bent as governor of North Dakota, where agriculture and oil are the main industries. He’s pushed income tax cuts, reduced regulations, and changes to animal agriculture laws and higher education governance. Burgum also emphasized a “data-driven” approach to governing, advocated for a Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library in the state and prioritized engagement with tribal nations.
Burgum and his wife, Kathryn, have been public about her recovery from addiction, and as governor he has prioritized resources for addiction treatment.
Burgum is known as a policy wonk who works long hours and is highly inquisitive.
He has largely resisted wading into social issues, such as anti-LGBTQ measures pushed by members of his own party, vetoing a few such bills in 2021 and 2023. But also in 2023, as he was planning a run for president, he signed a pile of bills opponents said targeted transgender people. They included a ban on gender-affirming medical treatments for transgender kids, sports bans for transgender athletes and transgender restrictions in schools.
Burgum ran for president from June to December 2023. He campaigned on priorities of energy, economy and national security, but dropped out after his bid failed to resonate.
He appeared in two Republican debates — including the first, which he attended after hurting his Achilles tendon playing basketball. He drew attention to his campaign offering $20 gift cards to people who would donate $1 to his campaign so he would have enough individual donors to make the debate stage.
In January, before the Iowa caucuses, he endorsed Trump. The same month, he declined to seek a third term as governor.
When he entered office in December 2016, he dealt with the final months of the sometimes chaotic protests of the Dakota Access oil pipeline. He’s led the state through terrible droughts and crippling storms.
He was the face of North Dakota’s response to the coronavirus pandemic, holding dozens of press conferences, many of them daily in early 2020, including an emotional plea about face masks. He and his wife publicly received their COVID vaccinations in 2021.
Last year, amid his presidential campaign, Burgum called a special session for the Legislature to deal with a budget mess weeks after the state Supreme Court voided a crucial bill, putting some state funding in jeopardy.
