Questions Pile Up at Doug Burgum’s Interior as Ethics Scandals, Cronyism, and Costly Failures Mount

From Corruption Waivers to a $600 Million Ballroom to a Swampy Reflecting Pool, Burgum’s Department Has No Answers

HELENA, MT – Unanswered questions are piling up at Doug Burgum’s Interior Department, and the American public is paying for it. Congressional Democrats are sounding alarms on multiple fronts: a letter from Sen. Martin Heinrich raises serious concerns that a senior Interior official received an ethics waiver after working on policies that benefited her family, with required financial disclosure forms nowhere to be found. A separate letter from a group of senators demands that Burgum halt construction of his proposed Arc de Trump at Memorial Circle, arguing the project violates multiple federal statutes and was never authorized by Congress.

The ethics problems don’t stop there. New Washington Post reporting reveals the cost of Trump’s ballroom has ballooned to $600 million, with taxpayers covering more than half, despite Trump’s repeated promise it would be “taxpayer-free.” The White House and the grounds are managed by the National Park Service under the Organic Act and other legal requirements, including required public participation and others, which have been completely ignored under Burgum’s watch, resulting in another lawsuit. 

Adding insult to injury, just days after Interior spent $14 million in taxpayer dollars repainting the Reflecting Pool “American Flag Blue,” it turned green with algae. Through it all, Burgum is quietly seeking to elevate a campaign donor to a Senate-confirmed Assistant Secretary position, with no Inspector General around to scrutinize any of it.

“Doug Burgum has turned the Interior Department into a personal patronage machine, handing out waivers, titles, and promotions while keeping the public in the dark,” said Jayson O’Neill, Save Our Parks spokesperson. “He spent millions of taxpayer dollars on the Reflecting Pool, and within days it was a nasty swamp, perfectly reflecting what this administration is. With no Inspector General, no public financial disclosures, and a Senate-confirmed donor waiting in the wings for yet another promotion, Congress must act now to shut down this revolving door, restore public transparency, and appoint an independent watchdog with real authority to investigate what Burgum is doing.”

To speak with Save Our Parks spokesperson Jayson O’Neill, email jayson@focalpointstrategygroup.com. 

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