Interior Department workers are accusing Secretary Doug Burgum of fostering a culture of secrecy and dysfunction just days after his Oval Office screaming match with Trump-appointed U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro.
Current and former Interior Department officials say morale has tanked under Burgum’s management, with employees describing an atmosphere of high turnover and leadership that ignores staff.
“Burgum appears to combine arrogance with an utter lack of curiosity or humility,” Tony Irish, who spent more than two decades at the Interior Department before leaving last year, told Politico. “I think it shows his disdain for the rank and file.”
Former officials also alleged that appointees relied on disappearing Signal messages, shredded official documents, and claimed leaders were “terrified of written records.”
Three former officials also blamed Burgum’s longtime chief of staff, JoDee Hanson, 53, for helping drive employees out of the agency. “The way that she managed the politicals in that building contributed to me leaving,” one former official said, with others alleging her management style left subordinates in tears.
The allegations come as Burgum, 70, finds himself scrutinized in a public feud with Pirro over the Justice Department’s abandoned prosecution of a man accused of damaging the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.
Pirro said Interior Department officials repeatedly failed to provide key evidence showing the damage stemmed from faulty construction rather than vandalism.
“Had [Interior] been forthcoming with the information clearly in its possession, the government would not have sought a grand jury indictment,” Pirro wrote in a court filing.
Politico reported that the Interior Department has lost nearly 14 percent of its workforce since Burgum took office, including the department’s top lawyer, chief of staff, and energy leaders.
Interior Department spokesperson Katie Martin dismissed the allegations as “anonymous and false attacks,” saying Burgum leads with “gratitude, humility, curiosity and courage.” She also denied claims that he used a private email account for government business.
White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt also defended Burgum, calling him “one of the most valuable members” of President Donald Trump’s Cabinet and praising his efforts to advance the administration’s energy agenda.
