Doug Burgum confirmed as interior secretary with support from Senate Democrats
CBSN
The Senate confirmed Doug Burgum as interior secretary late Thursday after President Trump tapped the North Dakota billionaire to spearhead the Republican administration's ambitions to boost fossil fuel production.
The vote was 79-18. More than half of Senate Democrats joined all 53 Republicans in voting for Burgum.
Burgum, 68, is an ultra-wealthy software industry entrepreneur who came from a small North Dakota farming community, where he worked at his family's grain elevator.
An American Airlines jet with 60 passengers and four crew members aboard collided with an Army helicopter Wednesday night while coming in for a landing at Ronald Reagan National Airport near Washington. The Black Hawk helicopter was carrying a crew of three. Officials said early Thursday that everyone on board both aircraft is believed dead, which would make it the deadliest U.S. air crash in nearly a quarter century.