Free Republic

Former North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum was confirmed by the Senate Thursday to lead President Trump’s Department of the Interior. Burgum, 68, received bipartisan support from senators, who voted 78-18 to approve his Cabinet nomination. The former Republican presidential primary candidate is expected to play a key role in Trump’s plan to put the US on the path to “energy dominance.” “Gov. Burgum knows that America’s natural resources are our greatest national asset,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) said in remarks from the Senate floor before the confirmation vote. “I look forward to working with him to protect our...

WASHINGTON - A federal judge has given Interior Secretary Gale Norton an ultimatum: Either appear in his court or face the prospect that he'll rule against her on an accusation that she retaliated against American Indians suing her agency for lost royalties. U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth gave Norton the choice in an order he issued late Monday. The judge has frequently battled with the Interior Department since a class-action suit was filed in 1996 on behalf of more than 300,000 Indians seeking an accounting of trust funds set up in their behalf more than a century ago. The government...