The US Senate has voted to confirm former North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum as President Donald Trump’s nominee for Secretary of the Interior.
The Senate voted 79-18 in favour of Burgum, with a number of Democrats joining Republicans to approve the nomination.
Burgum comes to the position from a state heavily tied to the fossil fuel industry, but the former governor has also endorsed a so-called “all of the above” strategy when it comes to energy production.
His Department of the Interior will oversee key federal agencies involved in permitting offshore wind projects in the US, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) and the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE).
During his confirmation hearing earlier this month, Burgum told senators that certain offshore wind projects would be allowed to continue.
“I’m not familiar with every project that the Interior has under way, but I’ll certainly be taking a look at all of those and if they make sense and they’re already in law, then they’ll continue”, he said.
Trump has since issued an executive order calling for an indefinite moratorium on new permitting actions for offshore wind from federal agencies, leaving a number of offshore wind projects hanging in the balance.