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Joining us now, as you can see if you're with us on Bloomberg TV, is the Secretary of the Interior. Doug Bergam, mister Secretary. Great to have you with us here on Bloomberg TV and radio. I'd like to zero win on the President's speech with you from your vantage point, record length and a lot to talk about. What did he propose for the year ahead that's important to your agency.
Well, let's just start at the top line. This is incredibly courageous, forward looking talk and celebrating our two hundred and fiftieth anniversary as a country, going literally back to
our founding. And then tonight who would have known when you're coming to hear the speech, you're going to get an opportunity to be present for the Medal of Honor being delivered twice, one for heroics from a warrior from World War Two and Korea War who's one hundred years old, and then someone who just weeks ago was courageously led the charges one of our helicopter prit's when they were arresting Maduro. So it spanned the whole two hundred and
fifty years. But again I would just say it. Two takeaways. Peace around the world, prosperity for Americans, af affordability. President Trump's policies turning this country around in the last twelve months.
A lot of focus on energy, as we expected this evening, as he reminded, drill, Baby, Drill, but also talked about what he would like to see the ability of the big tech companies, the hyper scalers having the opportunity to bring in their own power plants to put aside their data centers essentially off the grid. Is that something that the Interior Department is in the process of unlocking.
Well, absolutely, through the National Energy Dominance Council that runs out of the White House. That President Trump has asked Secretary of Chris Wright and I to lead Secretary of Energy. We're working hard to make sure that we can do this, have this behind the meter capability byop bringing your own power because we need power. This is about energy addition. There is no energy transition. President Trump understands that we've
got to have energy abundance. We've got to be able to sell owners need to our friends and allies, including those that have been dependent on our adversaries. I mean, if you're getting energy from Iran or Russia, and they're
funding terrorism or wars. I mean, we can stop wars and stop terrorism by having energy abundance from the US, but enough abundance that we can keep prices for energy here at home low even with the demand increase, so that we can win the AI arms race against China, which part of that race is who can generate the most electricity, because this is the first time in history you can take a killo loot of electricity and turn
it into intelligence. President Trump understands that his policy is going to work for both winning the aarms race and for keeping electricity affordable for Americans.
Wait, there's so much there. Do you worry about some of the concern that people have expressed about data centers, the nimby concerns, the worry about their electricity bills rising. Is this plan the way around that?
Absolutely, because if it's off the grid, it's not putting any burden on the grid itself, and it's not putting any pressure on rate pairs. Matter of fact, in North Dkota, when I was still a governor, they are just fifteen months ago we were completing a one point two billion dollar data center, and the electricity rates were going to go down for all the people, and then that are because you're spreading the cost across a big industrial buyer
in a rural area. So there are ways where you can add capability add a big power user like that. If you do it in the right way, it actually brings power down. So it's only people that would be opposed to for other reasons, including the climate extremists, would come up with a story that says that the artificial intelligence is going to raise your rates automatically. That's only with the wrong policies. With the right policies, they'll stay the same or go down.
Really interesting. The audience is deeply concerned about the future of that AI race, what it means for this country. The President said a bit about that evening, but clearly it's one of many priorities that he's pursuing in this new year. What's the most important way to win that AI race? Even as the markets start to question some of the spending that we're seeing from these massive companies, they're the size of countries, mister Secretary.
Yes, well, but again, this is a recovery new territory and we're going to see incredible capital flows around the world, and those capital flows, record capital flows are going to go to places that have ample, affordable, reliable and secure power. And that's going to be countries, and it's going to be states within those countries. Within Europe, it may be certain countries as opposed to all of the EU. Secretary Chris Right and I today met with twenty one energy
ministers from Central and Eastern Europe. Again, the race is on. People that have sensible energy policies that focus on affordable, reliable and secure energy are going to see a boom in investment going forward, because it's not just the data center, it's what follows that advanced manufacturer, the physical AI, because AI will be the greatest productivity increase that humanity has
ever seen. It really is an extension of human capability, whether it's curing cancer, providing a tutor for every school kid in the world, or solving the most clipplex problems that we've ever faced. This is something that we need in America and the free world needs to make sure that we're competitive in this aarms race, and the way we do that is generate more power energy addition, there
is no such thing as energy transition. If you're shutting down seven x twenty four, secure base load and adding intermit unreliable foreign sourced energy. That's energy fantasy. President Trump's focused on energy reality.
You're not only the Interior secretary, but you're also a surrogate of the president. Typically, after the State of the Union, we see cabinet secretaries fan out across the country to hit home to deliver the message that the president began tonight. Do you have travel plans, what are the next weeks and months look like for you?
Well? Absolutely, and of course all the cabinet sectors will tie it in with part of their job. So I'm going to be heading heading out to Western States where we have a large degree of federal land, a lot of intersection with those federal assets. What we like to say the Apartment of Materia has got the largest balance
sheet in the world. Five hundred million acres of land, seven hundred million acres of subservice rich with minerals, three billion acres of offshore from American Samoa, the US Virgin Islands, Gulf of America, which represents a huge energy component mixed for our country. But yeah, we'll be spanning out delivering the message. And the message is one that's a forward looking prosperity. When you talk about the policies through your businessors,
we're talking about cutting taxes, massively, cutting regulations. Record investment, incomes are up, inflation is down, interest rates are down, and affordability of housing is becoming more affordable. I mean, this is President Trump's right. We are entering a new golden age of abundance. This first year was an amazing one hundred and eighty degree turnaround. The next year going forward could be nothing short of an economic miracle.
We'll be watching for you here in Washington on the campaign trail throughout the midterms. Mister Secretary, thanks for joining us once again on Bloomberg TJ Radio.
Thank you for being here.