Donald Trump assigned Doug Burgum a singular mission in nominating the governor of oil-rich North Dakota to lead an agency that oversees a half-billion acres of federal land and vast areas offshore: “Drill baby drill.

President-elect Donald Trump has decided to nominate North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum to become the secretary of the Interior in his second administration. Burgm will replace outgoing Interior Secretary Deb Haaland (Laguna Pueblo),

President-elect Donald Trump has tapped North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum to lead the U.S. Department of Interior, which oversees the management of 500 million acres of public lands across the country, controls 700 million acres of subsurface lands and 1.7 billion acres of the outer continental shelf.

Leaders from the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate expressed joy regarding President-elect Donald Trump’s nomination of North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum as Secretary of the Interior.

The North Dakota governor has promoted outdoor recreation in his state. Opponents worry about his connection to the oil and gas industry.

That dictate from the president-elect’s announcement of Burgum for Secretary of Interior sets the stage for a reignition of the court battles over public lands and waters that helped define Trump’s first term.