Doug Burgum says natural gas costs $2.70 in America against $12 in Europe and $20 in other parts of the world.
Most critics of the AI data-center boom point to strained water tables and an overloaded power grid. The Interior Secretary says the numbers run the other way: a car wash can use more water than a data center, and federal policy now requires hyperscalers to bring their own power rather than draw down the grid.
"I think water needs to be debunked completely because most of the proposals for future data centers are all using closed-loop systems."
Burgum was governor of North Dakota until 20 months ago; as Interior Secretary he now oversees the federal government's energy and public-lands policy, and he points to a data center he helped build in a North Dakota town of 800 people as proof his approach works.
I listened to the full interview so you can skip it.
Here are the 5 numbers that matter.
👤 Guest: Doug Burgum, US Secretary of the Interior and former Governor of North Dakota
🎙️ Host: Kailey Leinz, Bloomberg Washington Correspondent
📰 Published: 10 September 2026 on YouTube (Bloomberg Talks)
🔴 YouTube | 🟣 Apple Podcasts | ⏱️ 12 min
Key Takeaways
Natural gas costs $2.70 in America against $12 in Europe and $20 elsewhere, Burgum says
He credits drilling in the Lower 48, Alaska and Venezuela with moving the "geopolitical center" of oil and gas back to the Western Hemisphere
Data-center water fears are "debunked," in his telling, because most projects run closed-loop systems
He says a car wash can use 20 to 30 times the water a data center does
Every new hyperscaler must bring its own power under a Trump ratepayer-protection policy
A North Dakota town of 800 people ended up with lower electric bills after hosting one of the data centers he built as governor
Export controls on diesel are "on the table," but he blames shrinking refining capacity first
California's refinery count fell from over 30 to six, he says, under state policy
The $5,000 dividend may not need Congress, in his account, though he would not say for certain
The new White House ballroom is being paid for by donations, not tax dollars
He contrasts the current State Dining Room's 120-guest limit with a Fargo, North Dakota hotel that holds 800
1. Who Pays the Dividend?
Kailey Leinz opened by asking Burgum about President Trump's proposed $5,000 payment to Americans, and whether taxpayers would ultimately be the ones funding it.
Burgum called it "a big idea, bold idea, a fresh idea," tied to what he described as "record trillions of dollars of direct foreign investment, the lower regulations, the lower taxes" the administration has produced.
He contrasted it with Democratic proposals he said never delivered: "a trillion dollars of student college debt relief" and, on the Green New Deal, "trillions of dollars over decades of subsidies."
Asked whether Trump can act without Congress — the president had told CBS he thought he could — Burgum did not confirm either way. "Well, I think that remains to be seen." He suggested the money could come from "the revenue that's coming in or the savings."
2. The Diesel Export Fight
Leinz pressed on diesel prices, already headed toward $6 a gallon before the latest escalation with Iran, and asked whether the administration is weighing export restrictions on refined fuel.
"Every idea is on the table," Burgum said, but argued the real fix is domestic refining capacity, not export controls. He said export controls have historically raised domestic prices rather than lowered them.
His account of the shortfall: "Under the prior administration, there was refining capacity was shrinking in extreme cases like in California, where they used to have over 30 refineries, going from eight to seven to six" — leaving the state importing refined product it could otherwise make itself.
He acknowledged the pain: "I mean, this is high diesel prices are affecting everyone from farmers to lobstermen." But he framed it as temporary, weighed against ending what he called a "long-term, multigenerational issue": Iran, which he said funds 24 different terror groups, developing a nuclear weapon.
3. Cheap Gas as the Payoff
Burgum tied the diesel fight to a larger claim: that the U.S., Alaska and Venezuela together are shifting global energy production westward.
"We are effectively with the actions in the lower 48, with Alaska, with Venezuela, moving the geopolitical center of oil and gas production back to the Western Hemisphere, really, for the first time," he said.
The natural-gas comparison is his headline evidence: "You take a look at natural gas, $2.70 for natural gas when Europe is paying 12 and other parts of the country are paying 20."
He linked the policy directly to manufacturing jobs: "So we're blessed in America to be set up for the decades ahead under President Trump's energy dominance policy to have secure, reliable, affordable energy for manufacturing, for electricity production, and for prosperity."
4. The Data-Center Water Fight
A Microsoft headline crossed the Bloomberg terminal mid-interview — plans to roughly triple AI data-center capacity, to 38 gigawatts — and Leinz asked whether the buildout is straining local water and power.
"I think water needs to be debunked completely because most of the proposals for future data centers are all using closed-loop systems," Burgum said. His comparison: "Those might use 20 to 30 times the water that a data center does," he said of car washes.
On power, he cited a Trump administration policy he called the ratepayer protection plan: any hyperscaler connecting to the grid has to "bring their own power or bring more" than it needs, so new data centers add capacity rather than draw it down.
He offered his own record as proof. As governor 20 months ago he helped build a data center in a North Dakota town of 800 people that did rooftop water capture — "the town ended up with more water" — and passed on electrical rebates that left residents "with lower electrical bills."
He floated giving away data-center compute to local schools as a personalized AI tutor for every student, calling it philanthropy "unheard of in America" and citing personalized learning as "the number one thing to raise educational outcomes."
5. DC Rebuilt on Donor Money
The conversation turned to Washington beautification projects under Trump — a new ballroom, restoration of the reflecting pool, gold plating on statues, and an arch that a group of veterans has sued over, arguing its placement disrespects those buried at Arlington National Cemetery.
Burgum defended the arch as completing a 125-year-old plan. "There's an empty circle that just has grass on it that's been that way for 125 years," he said. "It was designed in the original plan to be the halfway point between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington Cemetery, and it was designed to be a monument to help honor those fallen heroes."
On the ballroom, he argued the current State Dining Room is inadequate — able to "only host state dinners for 120 people" against a Fargo hotel that "can hold 800 for an event" — and said it is being funded "with donations." He pointed to the White House Correspondents' dinner as the kind of venue problem it solves: "So zero taxpayer dollars, but a massive improvement versus as you probably were at the correspondents' dinner and you saw the chaos that night of trying to hold an event for thousands of people in a hotel."
Asked directly whether the beautification push helps Republicans in the midterms, Burgum deflected — "Texas, I'm not going to talk" — and instead cited Trump's campaign promise that Washington be "the most beautiful and the most safe capital," listing what he said the city looked like 20 months ago: "1,000 graffiti sites, 153 homeless encampments, 22 fountains, over 50 monuments," all in disrepair.
Bonus Insights
Burgum opened by noting he will join Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy at Shanksville, Pennsylvania on the 25th anniversary of September 11, at the Flight 93 site, now a National Park Service historic site.
He credited the administration's Middle East posture as part of the convention's opening-night theme without detailing specific military actions, saying only that "we're still fighting battles in the Middle East."
Burgum's throughline across gas prices, data centers and the ballroom is the same: the wins he is claiming, in his telling, are being paid for by someone else — foreign investment, drilling, or donors — not by taxpayers, and not at the cost critics assume.
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