Scripps News spoke with Interior Secretary Doug Burgum on Thursday about efforts to pass President Donald Trump's flagship "Big Beautiful Bill" and the effects it could have on National Parks and other federal lands overseen by the Department of the Interior.
In the interview, Burgum addressed a controversial provision in the proposed budget reconciliation bill that would facilitate the sale of public lands, saying he was agnostic about whether it passes as part of the package.
"It wasn't part of the core, original bill. It was not part of the House version. It's not a central topic. I don't think anybody is really spending much time thinking about it up there," Burgum said. "There's a small percentage of the federal land we own that borders current urban areas that's not used for recreational or national parks. It would make a ton of sense for that to be considered. But it doesn't matter to me at all if it's part of this bill — that wasn't part of the president's agenda to be part of this bill in the first place."
The Senate Parliamentarian on Monday found the provision was "extraneous" to Congress' budgetary duties and should be cut unless it can pass a 60-vote threshold.
Republicans currently hold 54 seats in the Senate, making it a near certainty that they will not be able to assemble the votes to keep the land sale measure in place.
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Scripps News also asked about signs with QR codes posted at national parks that asked visitors to report "negative" information about Americans.
Burgum said he was unaware of the postings.
"First I've heard about it is right now," Burgum said. "And I've been at national park units this very week. I'm completely unaware of it."
The signs direct visitors to provide feedback to the National Park Service, in accordance with an executive order signed by President Trump on March 27, 2025.
That order directs Burgum, as Secretary of the Interior, to "restore Federal parks, monuments, memorials, statues, markers, or similar properties that have been improperly removed or changed in the last five years to perpetuate a false revision of history or improperly minimize or disparage certain historical figures or events."
Burgum signed an order directing the Department of the Interior to comply with the executive order on May 20, 2025.
Watch the full interview with Burgum in the video above.
