Interior Minister Burgum accuses wind and solar energy of having “put it on its feet” in favor of oil and gas

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum on Monday defended the Trump administration’s approach to energy production as Democrats on a U.S. House budget panel accused the department of pandering to oil and gas interests at the expense of renewable energy.

Burgum said President Donald Trump’s administration aimed to reduce regulatory burdens on oil and gas producers and that former President Joe Biden sought to exclude those industries in a misguided attempt to promote renewable energy sources.

Burgum suggested at several points that what Democrats described as a pro-oil and gas bias was a correction to Biden’s “over-orientation” toward wind and solar energy.

“The last administration said ‘all of it,’ and then there were a bunch of rules that were completely against the things that we needed to actually have baseload power in this country,” he said of Biden’s oil and gas policies. “It was just too early. It was too premature to say we’re going to shut this all down and make the transition.”

But Democrats on the House Interior and Environment Appropriations Subcommittee said the Interior Department under Burgum was doing the exact opposite: subsidizing fossil fuels while discouraging solar and wind energy.

“Soon after taking office, the White House acted quickly to stop offshore wind development and took steps to curb solar and wind projects,” said Rep. Chellie Pingree, D-Maine. “Why? Why are we destroying industries that create jobs, expand our energy supply and help address the climate crisis? Because this administration’s energy policy is based on political resentment, ideological hostility and, of course, propping up big oil and gas companies.”

California Democrat Josh Harder called for an overhaul of permitting rules to allow for faster construction of renewable energy infrastructure. Part of that responsibility falls to Congress, he said, but complained that Trump is making it even harder for wind and solar projects to get off the ground.

“Again, there is one standard for one type of energy and another standard for another,” he said. “I hear the complaints that previous governments have put their thumb on the scale. What I see now is that one type of project requires ministerial level approval but another doesn’t. And again, I don’t think that’s sustainable or good policy.”

Burgum responded that the government is in favor of hydroelectric and nuclear power but is wary of “weather-dependent, intermittent” solar and wind power because those sources can be more steep for ratepayers.

Cuts in Parks, Bureau of Indian Education

The topic of Monday’s hearing was Trump’s request for a $16 billion budget for the Interior Department for the next fiscal year. The request would keep the department’s funding at roughly the same level as the current fiscal year, a nearly 12% reduction from the 2025 fiscal year.

Democrats expressed disapproval of this novel baseline, including a $757 million cut in National Park Service benefits.

“The department is on a dangerous course,” Pingree said. “This budget would only compound the damage, and as ranking member of the subcommittee, I will do everything in my power to oppose these reckless cuts and combat the administration’s destructive policies.”

Members of both parties raised questions about proposed cuts to the Bureau of Indian Education’s budget after the Education Department shifted some of its responsibilities in that area to Interior.

The BIE would receive about $437 million less within the proposed budgeta cut of about 32%.

“As your agency begins administering these new programs, I would strongly recommend that you — I am sure you will — conduct thorough tribal consultations to ensure that there are no delays in awarding funding or program disruptions that would be potentially damaging,” Budget Committee Chairman Tom Cole told Burgum.

Cole, a Republican from Oklahoma and enrolled member of the Chickasaw Nation, is the first Native American to lead the Appropriations Committee.

Committee-at-large Democrat Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut, who is also the top Democrat on the subcommittee that oversees Education Department funding, said she was concerned about the shift.

“I’m worried about transferring programs from education,” she said. “Honestly, (BIE) doesn’t have a great track record and I don’t know if the funding that comes with these programs will materialize or not.”

Burgum said 16 full-time employees in four Department of Education programs would move to the BIE along with all funding for the programs.

Local problems

Members also raised a number of specific concerns.

Minnesota Democrat Betty McCollum criticized the U.S. Senate’s vote last week to lift mining restrictions in the Boundary Waters in northern Minnesota.

Rep. Jake Ellzey, a Texas Republican, spent much of his time focused on impoverished conditions at Maryland’s Fort Washington, a unit of the National Park Service just a tiny drive from Washington, DC

Ellzey pointed to photos of buildings in need of repair and noted that a longtime park ranger retired last year and her position went unfilled, leaving just two rangers on nearly 350 acres.

And subcommittee Chairman Mike Simpson, an Idaho Republican, joked that the Bureau of Land Management’s $144 million wild horse and burro program was his top priority.

“If you can solve this problem, I don’t care what happens to the rest of the budget,” Simpson said. “We’ve been trying to deal with this for so long it’s crazy.”