DENVER—In a House Interior Appropriations Subcommittee hearing on Monday, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum doubled down on the Trump administration’s most unpopular public land policies, including cutting National Park Service staffing and funding, throttling the development of solar and wind energy on public lands and waters while propping up fossil fuel extraction, and attacking the efficacy and intention of the Endangered Species Act. The majority of Western voters strongly support the conservation of public lands and the construction of renewable energy, according to the annual State of the Rockies Conservation in the West poll.
The hearing was held to examine the President’s 2027 Interior Department budget proposal, which was released earlier this month and includes deep cuts across public land agencies.
The Center for Western Priorities released the following statement from Communications Manager Kate Groetzinger:
“Secretary Burgum reached new heights of hypocrisy in his desperate attempts to justify the Trump administration’s incredibly unpopular public lands agenda, which includes deep budget cuts to agencies like the National Park Service, the Bureau of Land Management, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
“Burgum slammed the Endangered Species Act and defended the God Squad, which just sentenced the Rice’s whale to extinction, while claiming to oppose offshore wind because of its possible negative impact on whale populations. He also showed an astounding lack of knowledge about renewable energy markets, claiming that solar and wind power don’t pencil out without subsidies, while ignoring the massive subsidies fossil fuel companies receive in the form of discounted leases and royalties on resources extracted from public lands. Finally, he claimed that the Trump administration’s goal has always been to increase the number of employees in national parks, while defending cuts that led to a 25 percent reduction in the Park Service’s total workforce last year.
“We’re thankful that Ranking Member Pingree was willing to challenge Burgum on so many of his false claims. We look forward to Wednesday’s Interior budget hearing in the Senate, and urge lawmakers to press Burgum on his request for a $10 billion slush fund to establish a ‘Presidential Capital Stewardship Program’ for ‘construction and beautification projects’ in Washington D.C., while simultaneously asking Congress to cut the already-lean NPS construction budget by around $40 million.”
Learn more:
Doug Burgum’s FY2027 budget blueprint for public lands is a recipe for disaster – Center for Western Priorities
Trump’s Interior secretary is about to face Congress for the first time in a year. It could get ugly – Westwise
President’s Budget Proposal Slashes National Park Service Funding Amid Ongoing Attacks on National Parks – National Parks Conservation Association
2026 Conservation in the West Poll – Colorado College