Daily Caller
Pipelines and Energy Top Priorities for Trump’s Interior Secretary

North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum speaks to the Republican National Convention, July 17, 2024. (Screen Capture/CSPAN)
From the Daily Caller News Foundation
By Adam Pack
Senate Overwhelmingly Confirms Doug Burgum As Trump’s Interior Secretary
The Senate confirmed former North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum in a bipartisan fashion to lead President Donald Trump’s Department of Interior Thursday evening.
Senators overwhelmingly approved Burgum’s nomination 79 to 18. Three senators did not vote. Under the prior administration, we went from a nation of energy dominance to a nation of energy dependence.
Dear Readers:
As a nonprofit, we are dependent on the generosity of our readers. Please consider making a small donation of any amount here. Thank you!
America is an energy superpower. We should act like it. @DougBurgum and @ChrisAWright_ are America’s energy all-stars. I strongly support their nominations. pic.twitter.com/3o4xuan31r
— Sen. John Barrasso (@SenJohnBarrasso) January 30, 2025
Senate Republicans endorsed Burgum’s nomination, saying he was committed to reversing the work of his predecessor, former Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, to restrict energy resources. Haaland worked to block oil and gas leasing in development in Alaska.
“Governor Burgum knows that America’s natural resources are our greatest national asset,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune said Wednesday on the Senate floor prior to Burgum’s confirmation vote. “Too often, under the Biden administration, the Interior Department was the tip of the spear in restricting development of America’s resources.”
Burgum promised to prioritize energy abundance during his leadership over the Interior Department.
“The American people clearly placed their confidence in President Trump to achieve Energy Dominance,” Burgum wrote in his opening remarks to the Senate Energy and Natural Resources (ENR) Committee during his confirmation hearing on Jan 16. “Energy Dominance is the foundation of historic American prosperity, affordability for American families, and unrivaled national security.”
“President Trump’s Energy Dominance vision will end wars abroad and make life more affordable for every family by driving down inflation,” Burgum added. “President Trump will achieve these goals while championing clean air, clean water, and our beautiful land.”
Burgum won the support of a majority of Senate Democrats, including Democratic New Mexico Sen. Martin Heinrich who serves as the lead Democrat on the Senate ENR Committee.
“I clearly do not agree with Governor Burgum on every issue,” Heinrich wrote in a statement on Jan. 23. “However, I voted to confirm Governor Burgum’s nomination for Interior Secretary because I have found that a healthy relationship with the Secretary of Interior is critical to securing the best outcomes for the State of New Mexico.”
Trump has tasked Burgum with leading a newly-created interagency National Energy Council to cut regulations affecting the energy sector and harness private sector investment related to energy innovation. The president also appointed Burgum to a seat on the National Security Council, a rare appointment for an energy secretary.
Burgum served two terms as North Dakota’s governor beginning in December 2016. He launched a presidential run in June 2023, but struggled to gain traction and suspended his campaign that December. He endorsed Trump in January 2024 and served as a campaign surrogate throughout the remainder of the race.
Thune teed up confirmation votes Thursday evening on energy executive Chris Wright to lead the Department of Energy and former Republican Georgia Rep. Doug Collins to lead the Department of Veterans’ Affairs.
Daily Caller
Trump Admin To Push UN Overhaul Of ‘Haphazard And Chaotic’ Refugee Policy

From the Daily Caller News Foundation
The Trump administration will soon push the United Nations (UN) to rewrite the international asylum rules, calling the current framework a “haphazard and chaotic system” routinely abused by bad actors, the Daily Caller News Foundation confirmed.
U.S. officials are planning an event later this month during the UN’s annual General Assembly to spotlight reforms aimed at curbing asylum abuses that have “disrupted entire regions, enriched criminal cartels and violated the sovereignty of nations,” a State Department spokesperson told the DCNF. Proposed changes include requiring migrants to seek protection in the first country they enter rather than “asylum shopping” for a destination of choice.
“The United States plans to begin a conversation on reforming an outdated, decades-old system that has long been abused by bad actors and economic migrants to fuel the global migration crisis,” the spokesperson told the DCNF.
Dear Readers:
As a nonprofit, we are dependent on the generosity of our readers.
Please consider making a small donation of any amount here.
Thank you!
Most countries, including the U.S., are signatories to UN treaties that set a framework for those fleeing persecution to seek asylum at another country’s borders. The Trump administration, however, plans to push for “commonsense and necessary reforms” emphasizing that every nation has a right to control its borders, there is no right to receive asylum in a country of choice, asylum is meant to be temporary, sovereign states determine when return is possible, and that every country is obligated to accept return of its citizens, the spokesperson said.
European countries that have taken in millions of refugees, many from Muslim-majority nations, have been grappling with social turmoil and violence linked to migrants. Germany alone — with a population of 83 million — had 3 million refugees as of mid-2024, according to the UN.
The push aligns with President Donald Trump’s broader push to tighten asylum standards and “realign” U.S. policy.
“Cities and small towns alike, from Charleroi, Pennsylvania, and Springfield, Ohio, to Whitewater, Wisconsin, have seen significant influxes of migrants,” Trump wrote in his Jan. 20 executive order temporarily suspending the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program, which is currently being challenged in court.
“The United States lacks the ability to absorb large numbers of migrants, and in particular, refugees, into its communities in a manner that does not compromise the availability of resources for Americans, that protects their safety and security, and that ensures the appropriate assimilation of refugees,” the order continued.
The administration is also expected to set its refugee admission ceiling for fiscal year 2026 this month. More than 100,000 refugees were admitted into the country under former President Joe Biden in fiscal year 2024 — the highest figure since 1994 — according to the Migration Policy Institute.
Meanwhile, Trump has highlighted the violence and discrimination faced by Afrikaners, the minority group of predominantly Dutch descent in South Africa, whose harrowing testimonies the Daily Caller has documented. In May, the president signed an executive order promoting the resettlement of Afrikaners, and several groups have already arrived in the U.S.
Crime
Transgender Roomate of Alleged Charlie Kirk Assassin Cooperating with Investigation

From the Daily Caller News Foundation
The man accused of assassinating Turning Point USA (TPUSA) founder Charlie Kirk reportedly lives with a transgender-identifying “partner,” according to Fox News reporter Brooke Singman.
Authorities have arrested Tyler Robinson, 22, accusing him of gunning down Kirk during a TPUSA “Prove Me Wrong” event at Utah Valley University on Wednesday, during which the late activist was debating attendees on a variety of topics, including transgenderism. Authorities say that communications between Robinson and the biological male who identified as a transgender female confirm Robinson as the person responsible for the assassination of Kirk, Singman posted on X Saturday.
Kirk had engaged in a debate about transgender mass shooters with Hudson Kozak shortly before being assassinated. The subject became a hot-button issue following the Aug. 27 shooting during an all-school mass held at Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis that left two children dead.
Dear Readers:
As a nonprofit, we are dependent on the generosity of our readers.
Please consider making a small donation of any amount here.
Thank you!
Authorities had recovered a rifle containing ammunition that was reportedly marked with left-wing messaging, from a wooded area near the site of Kirk’s fatal shooting. The phrases included “Hey fascist! Catch!” and “If you read this you are gay LMAO,” according to Republican Utah Gov. Spencer Cox.
Kirk founded TPUSA, an organization for conservative college and high school students, in June 2012, according to the group’s website. He also hosted “The Charlie Kirk Show,” a podcast that later became a radio show on the Salem Radio Network, according to his biography on TPUSA’s site.
-
Crime2 days ago
Down the Charlie Kirk Murder Rabbit Hole
-
Business2 days ago
It’s time to finally free the beer
-
Daily Caller1 day ago
Trump Admin To Push UN Overhaul Of ‘Haphazard And Chaotic’ Refugee Policy
-
Business1 day ago
Carney Admits Deficit Will Top $61.9 Billion, Unveils New Housing Bureaucracy
-
Business21 hours ago
Carney’s Ethics Test: Opposition MP’s To Challenge Prime Minister’s Financial Ties to China
-
Artificial Intelligence1 day ago
What are data centers and why do they matter?
-
Business18 hours ago
Attrition doesn’t go far enough, taxpayers need real cuts
-
Business17 hours ago
Carney government’s housing GST rebate doesn’t go far enough