Interior Secretary Doug Burgum on Monday defended the Trump administration’s approach to energy production, as Democrats on a US House appropriations panel accused the department of favoring oil and gas interests at the expense of renewable energy.
Bergum said President Donald Trump’s administration aimed to ease the regulatory burden on oil and gas producers and said former President Joe Biden tried to shut down those industries in a misguided effort to boost renewable energy sources.
Bergum indicated at several points that what Democrats called a pro-oil-and-gas bias was a corrective to Biden’s “over-rotation” toward wind and solar.
“The last administration said ‘all of the above,’ and then there were regulations that were completely punitive against things that we actually needed to, you know, have baseload power in this country,” he said of Biden’s oil and gas policies. “It was too early. It was too early to say we were going to shut it all down and we were going to transition.”
But Democrats on the House Appropriations Interior-Environment Subcommittee say the Interior Department under Bergum is doing just the opposite: subsidizing fossil fuels while discouraging solar and wind power.
“Soon after taking office, the White House moved quickly to stop offshore wind development and took steps to rein in solar and wind projects,” said Rep. Chelly Pingry, D-Maine. “Why? Why are we bowing out to industries that create jobs, expand our energy supply and help address the climate crisis? Because this administration’s energy policy is based on political grievances, ideological animosity and, of course, big oil and gas production.”
California Democrat Josh Harder has called for an overhaul of permitting regulations to enable faster construction of renewable energy infrastructure. Some of that responsibility fell to Congress, he said, but he complained that Trump was making it harder to get wind and solar projects off the ground.
“Again, there is one value for one type of energy and another value for another type,” he said. “I’ve heard complaints from previous administrations about their thumb on the scale. What I’m seeing now is that one type of project requires secretary-level approval, but not another. And again, I don’t think that’s sustainable or good policy.”
Bergum responded that the administration was pro-hydropower and pro-nuclear, but wary of “weather-dependent, intermittent” solar and wind power because those sources could be more expensive for ratepayers.
Cutbacks in Parks, Bureau of Indian Education
The subject of Monday’s hearing was Trump’s $16 billion budget request for the Interior Department for the next fiscal year. The request would keep the department’s funding roughly even with the current fiscal year, which was about 12% lower than in fiscal year 2025.
Democrats voiced their disapproval of that new baseline, including a $757 million cut to National Park Service operations.
“The department is on a dangerous path,” Pingree said. “This budget will only make the damage worse, and as the subcommittee’s ranking member, I will do everything in my power to oppose these reckless cuts and fight the administration’s destructive policies.”
Members from both parties raised questions about proposed cuts to the Bureau of Indian Education budget when the Education Department offloaded part of its responsibilities in that area to the Interior.
BIE will receive about $437 million less Under the proposed budgetCut about 32%.
“As your agency begins to administer these new programs, I strongly recommend — as I’m sure you do — that thorough tribal consultation be pursued to avoid any funding award delays or program disruptions that could potentially cause harm,” Full Appropriations Committee Chair Tom Cole told Burgum.
Cole, an Oklahoma Republican and enrolled member of the Chickasaw Nation, is the first Native American to lead the Appropriations Committee.
Full committee ranking 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 change.
“I’m concerned about the transfer of programs from education,” he said. “Quite frankly, (BIE) doesn’t have a great track record, and I don’t know if the funding that goes with these programs will come through.”
Burgum said 16 full-time employees in four Education Department programs will transfer to BIE, along with all funding for the programs.
Local problems
Members raised a host of specific concerns.
Minnesota Democrat Betty McCollum criticized the U.S. Senate’s vote last week to lift restrictions on mining in northern Minnesota’s boundary waters.
Rep. Jake Ljey, a Republican from Texas, spent much of his time focusing on the poor conditions at Fort Washington in Maryland, a National Park Service unit a short drive from Washington, DC.
LJE pointed to photos of buildings in need of repair and noted that a longtime park ranger retired last year and his role has not been filled, leaving only two rangers covering about 350 acres.
And subcommittee chairman Mike Simpson, an Idaho Republican, joked that the Bureau of Land Management’s $144 million wild horse and burros program was his top priority.
“If you can fix that 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.”
Nevada Current Part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. The Nevada Current maintains editorial independence. Contact editor Hugh Jackson with questions: (email protected).
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republished With permission from Nevada Current
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