FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, November 17, 2025
Contact:
Jeff Ruch (510) 213-7028 [email protected]
Interior Secretary Grabs Unparalleled Staff and Functions
Office of Secretary Nearly Triples in 9 Months to 3rd Largest Interior Bureau
Washington, DC — During Doug Burgum’s short tenure as Secretary of the Interior, his office staffing has exploded while other Interior agency workforces have shrunk, according to Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER). Burgum’s acquisition of approximately 5,000 staff positions has occurred without any formal Congressional approval.
Today, one in seven Interior employees report directly to Burgum, a transformation in just months:
- By transferring most administrative, information technology, and communications staff from constituent bureaus to work directly for him, the Office of Interior Secretary’s overall staffing has grown from around 3,300 in September 2024 to nearly 8,200 today;
- By contrast, Interior overall has lost around 9,700 people, with 1,600 of those from the National Park Service. Interior has also signaled plans for at least another 2,000 layoffs; and
- Not counted in these totals is Burgum taking direct line control of the U.S. Park Police, a 300-to-400-officer constabulary for which Burgum has authorized bonuses to facilitate “fast track” hiring of another 100 officers.
The numbers alone do not illustrate the expansion of functions and organizational control now exercised by Secretary Burgum. One factor is that there have been no directors at the National Park Service and the Bureau of Land Management, which together control nearly 14% of the entire U.S. land area (the Park Service has yet to even see a nominee for director). Combined with the departure of many senior staff, this has allowed the Secretary to wield an unprecedented degree of operational control over these vast public lands.
“The Office of Secretary now exercises more direct management power over Interior lands than any previous Secretary,” stated PEER Executive Director Tim Whitehouse, pointing to Burgum’s controversial order outlawing interpretive displays on all Interior lands that might be perceived as “negative” as an example. “In this leadership vacuum, professional land managers are being displaced by political operatives.”
Another major impact is a surcharge reportedly being charged to constituent agencies for each staff position they transfer to the Office of Secretary. PEER has heard employee reports that in addition to transferring the salary and benefits, each bureau is assessed a recurring 10–11.5% overhead surtax to compensate for Burgum’s overhead. PEER’s attempts to verify these figures through the Freedom of Information Act have so far been in vain.
“In building this bureaucratic empire, Secretary Burgum may be further impoverishing the very agencies responsible for carrying out Interior’s mission,” Whitehouse added, noting the extraordinary budgetary strains under which Interior agencies, such as the Park Services, are operating. “Secretary Burgum has put his own office on steroids without monitoring for the adverse side effects he is causing.”
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Compare current staffing of DOI bureaus
See Burgum order consolidated all the admin, comms, and IT staff
Note directive assuming line control over U.S. Park Police
View plans for another 2,000 layoffs
Revisit Burgum order banning “negative” displays
Look at training academies closures and dumbing down national parks
