Trump Official Who Wants Data Centers on Public Lands Has Tens of Millions Invested in AI Industry

ProPublica · Mark Olalde · 2026-11-06 11:00 UTC

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, who is heavily invested in the AI industry, is leading the charge to allow tech companies to build data centers on the public lands he oversees.

The Trump administration has likened the need to build out the nation’s artificial intelligence infrastructure to the Manhattan Project, the World War II effort that produced the world’s first atomic bomb.

The White House’s point person on the effort, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, has spoken of the “AI arms race” with China as an existential issue for the nation. “AI is manufacturing intelligence, and, if we don’t manufacture more intelligence than our adversaries, it affects every job, every company and every industry,” he said during his Senate confirmation hearing in January 2025.

But advancing the administration’s AI objectives also could benefit Burgum’s own finances.

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