Donald Trump announces he will nominate South Dakota Governor Doug Burgum as Secretary of the Interior at Mar-a-Lago party

Donald Trump announced on Thursday that North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum - a wealthy former software company executive - would be his pick to head the Interior Department.

Trump was speaking on stage during a gala at his Mar-a-Lago resort when he seemed to debate whether he would spoil the surprise early, before naming Burgum. 

'He's going to head the Department of Interior, and it's going to be fantastic,' a tuxedo-wearing Trump said, adding that he would make an official announcement on Friday. 

'We have a big announcement and I won't tell you the exact name, I think he's an incredible person, he's got an unbelievable wife named Kathryn,' Trump said.

'So I won't tell you his name, it might be something like Burgum, he's from North Dakota. He's going to be announced tomorrow for a big position.'

Trump then acknowledged Burgum, who was in the crowd for the star-studded party at the America First Policy Conference. 

'We're gonna do things with energy and with land, interior, that is going to be incredible and so I look forward to doing the formal announcement, although this is a pretty big announcement right now,' Trump added.

He then congratulated Kathryn Burgum before once again promising the official announcement Friday.  

The decision follows another pair of high-profile announcements, including Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s nomination to run the nation's health department and ex-Congressman Doug Collins as Veterans Affairs secretary.  

Burgum, 68, has portrayed himself as a traditional, business-minded conservative and was seen as being on the short list to be Trump's vice president. 

He ran against Trump for the Republican presidential nomination before quitting and becoming a loyal Trump supporter, appearing at fundraisers and advocating for Trump on television.

Since his victory, Trump has chosen several loyalists with little experience for key Cabinet positions, stunning some allies and making clear that he is serious about reshaping - and in some cases testing - America's institutions. 

He is a billionaire businessman surrounded by a loving family and has the support of a wife who has her own inspirational back story overcoming drug and alcohol addiction.

Burgum ran his own self-funded campaign for governor and taking on the Republican establishment while winning the affection of voters in the state.

Though a long shot candidate for president in 2020, Republican consultants in DC appreciated his outside-the-box thinking that allowed him to stay in the debates by building up his donor list by handing out $20 gift cards for a one dollar donation.

Political operatives viewed Burgum with many of the same qualities as former Vice President Mike Pence used to have - low key, no drama, Midwestern appeal, and not a national figure trying to raise his political profile beyond Trump.

Burgum has the additional qualities of a successful businessman who, like Trump, has a practical view on politics. 

His connections to wealthy donors were also considered an asset to the campaign.

Before the selection of J.D. Vance, Trump's former campaign chief Corey Lewandowski mentioned Burgum as one of the 'top three' candidates currently under consideration for his running mate.

'His record is probably not as strong as it could have been from a rock rib conservative state like North Dakota but Doug is someone who has spent a lot of time with the president lately,' Lewandowski said in a New Hampshire radio interview, stressing he was only speaking for himself, and not for Trump.

North Dakota's newfound prominence in the energy industry lifted Burgum's profile as he ran his campaign on importance of America becoming energy independent and economically prosperous. 

His record on energy sparked chatter that he could one day be Trump's pick for Secretary of Energy, much like former Gov. Rick Perry did in Trump's first term.

In January, Trump previewed that Burgum would be 'a very important piece of the administration,' and praised his temperament. 

'You need controversy for traction sometimes, and this guy is the most solid guy. There's no controversy whatsoever,' Trump said. 'And he's one of the best governors in our country.'

Earlier Thursday, Trump said he intends to nominate former Representative Doug Collins for secretary of veterans affairs.

'We must take care of our brave men and women in uniform, and Doug will be a great advocate for our Active Duty Servicemembers, Veterans, and Military Families to ensure they have the support they need,' Trump said in a statement.

Collins, who served in Congress from 2013 to 2021, unsuccessfully ran for election to be a U.S. senator for Georgia in 2020. 

He is currently a chaplain in the United States Air Force Reserve Command.

The Department of Veterans Affairs provides benefits, health care, and cemetery services to military veterans. 

It employs nearly 371,000 health care professionals and support staff at VA medical facilities across the country.

The president-elect also picked three members of his criminal defense team, including lead attorney Todd Blanche, to serve in senior roles at the Justice Department.

Trump nominated Blanche, who defended him at trial this year in a criminal case over hush money paid to porn star Stormy Daniels, to serve as deputy attorney general, the second-highest position at the Justice Department.

'Todd is an excellent attorney who will be a crucial leader in the Justice Department, fixing what has been a broken System of Justice for far too long,' Trump said in a statement.

The deputy attorney general provides day-to-day supervision of the more than 110,000 employees of the Justice Department and also oversees the FBI and other investigative agencies.

Rod Rosenstein, who served in the role during Trump's first administration, called Blanche a 'highly credible' nominee for deputy attorney general.

Blanche, a former federal prosecutor, is representing Trump in two federal cases over his efforts to overturn his defeat in the 2020 election and his retention of classified documents after leaving office in 2021. 

Both cases are expected to wind down before Trump returns to the White House in January.

Trump was convicted on 34 counts of falsifying business records in the hush money case. He had been scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 26, but all proceedings in the case are now on hold.

Trump also selected John Sauer, who successfully urged the U.S. Supreme Court to give Trump broad immunity in the 2020 election case, as his solicitor general. The solicitor general represents the U.S. government before the Supreme Court.

Nothing topped the reaction to Trump's choice to nominate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to be his secretary of Health and Human Services.

The latest appointment to a rapidly growing cabinet and West Wing packed with loyalists new and old immediately sent shockwaves through the public health sector given Kennedy's reputation as an anti-vaxxer who has pushed conspiracy theories about a number of health-related topics. 

The 70-year-old husband of actress Cheryl Hines has railed against processed foods, vowed to remove fluoride from public water systems and suggested COVID was engineered to be 'ethnically targeted.' 

'I am thrilled to announce Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as The United States Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS),' Trump posted on X.  

DailyMail.com previously reported that Dr. Ben Carson - a respected surgeon turned 2016 presidential candidate - was in the mix, though Trump had also said he would let Kennedy 'go wild' on federal health agencies. 

Kennedy had boosted Trump's 2024 run by suspending his independent presidential campaign the day after the Democratic National Convention wrapped up in August - telling his supporters to back the Republican in key swing states. 

Kennedy later embraced Trump even more - telling his supporters across the U.S. to back Trump instead - arguing they had a vision to 'Make America Healthy Again.'