Second Trump Administration – Department of the Interior

Nominations and Appointments

In January 2025, Doug Burgum was nominated to serve as the Secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior. Burgum, a Republican politician, previously served as Governor of North Dakota. Burgum is a former senior vice president of Business Solutions at Microsoft and is a co-founder and former chair of the board of Arthur Ventures. Burgum previously was chair of Atlassian and SuccessFactors, and a board member for Avalara. ^{1 2} Burgum announced his candidacy for the 2024 presidential election on June 7, 2023, but withdrew from the race on December 4, 2023. His campaign was focused on the economy, national security, and energy production, and Burgum claimed he would reduce inflation and the cost of living, cut taxes, and increase domestic energy production. ³

In 2025, Kate MacGregor began serving as the Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior, a position she also held in the first Trump administration beginning in February 2020. MacGregor previously served in the Department as Deputy Chief of Staff and Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Land and Minerals Management. MacGregor worked as vice president of environmental services at NextEra Energy between her terms at the Interior. ^{4 5}

In 2025, Bill Groffy was appointed the Principal Deputy Director of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and as Acting Director. Groffy previously worked as the senior director of Legislative and Regulatory Affairs for the Colorado Oil and Gas Association (COGA), where he testified before state legislatures and regulatory bodies. Groffy previously held regulatory analyst roles at Newfield Exploration, Encana, and Ovintiv, after an early career in government relations and compliance at Marathon Oil. ⁶

In October 2025, William “Billy” Kirkland was confirmed as the Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs. Kirkland is an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation and previously served as Special Assistant to the President and Deputy Director of Intergovernmental Affairs in the Executive Office of the President during the first Trump administration. Prior to his government service, Kirkland provided strategic services to Fortune 500 companies, political candidates, and advocacy campaigns. ⁷ Kirkland worked as a senior advisor to Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign in Georgia and later as a senior strategist for first Trump administration Vice President Mike Pence. ^{8 9}

Kevin Lilly is serving as the Acting Assistant Secretary for Fish, Wildlife and Parks. ¹⁰ Lilly is a Texas-based investment manager and former officer with the Texas State Guard. Lilly previously worked as vice chair of Corient and chair of the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission. Lilly was a founding partner of the investment management firm Avalon Advisors. ¹¹

 Justin “J” Shirley is serving as the Principal Deputy Director of the Fish and Wildlife Service. Shirley retired from the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources (DWR) after 22 years of service, where he served most recently as Director, after previously serving as Law Enforcement Chief. While at Utah DWR, Shirley sat on the boards of the Utah Reclamation Mitigation and Conservation Commission and the Intermountain West Joint Venture. He was also the Pacific Flyway representative on the North American Wetlands Conservation Council and the Acting Vice President of Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (WAFWA). ¹²