Burgum says TotalEnergies "essentially gave the U.S. government an interest-free loan"
U.S. Secretary of the Interior
“They essentially gave the U.S. government an interest-free loan and their money was refunded to them”
Source and context
Reporting
About this source
PBS News report on the first lawsuit over the TotalEnergies settlement, including Interior's response and Secretary Burgum's May 13, 2026 House testimony about the payment.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Before the quotation
Rep. Dave Min asked Burgum whether it was appropriate for Interior to send $1 billion to a foreign energy company to stop producing energy while Americans face high utility bills.
After the quotation
Min responded that the cancellation was a case study in what he called an economically illiterate and unlawful energy strategy.
How this statement is classified
Responding to: The lease buyout payments are a dollar-for-dollar refund of money the companies already paid the Treasury, not new taxpayer spending, because the leases were no longer viable without government-favored terms.
The label describes this statement’s response within the context above.
Why this label?
Burgum argues the payment was a legitimate refund of the company's own money rather than new taxpayer spending, defending the payment's basis against Rep. Dave Min's questioning.
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Did the Interior Department's offshore wind lease-cancellation payments comply with the Judgment Fund Act?
Explore the case context, sources and public responses.
More from this case
Read the full case“President Trump is trying to send $111 million to his fossil fuel industry friends and wants taxpayers and working families to cover the tab.”Read statement
“These illegal backroom deals take money that should have gone toward lowering New Yorkers' bills and hand it to fossil fuel projects in other states, all while our energy demand continues to grow.”Read statement
“The use of congressionally appropriated funds, potentially in violation of the Antideficiency Act, to pay private companies to cancel clean energy projects on the condition that they invest in fossil fuel ventures appears to be quid pro quo. ... You have furnished these reimbursements through the Department of Justice's (DOJ) Judgment Fund, which was created to pay valid judgement and settlements where the United States is the defendant. The details of these agreements make clear that your payment structure does not meet the statutory requirements governing use of the Judgment Fund: DOI has identified no final judgment, Attorney General-approved compromise of a referred claim, or money-damages liability that would make this payment eligible for the Judgment Fund under 31 U.S.C. § 1304 or 28 U.S.C. § 2414.”Read statement