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Secretary of the Interior Has No Idea How Solar Power Works

7 0
13.05.2026

Secretary of the Interior Has No Idea How Solar Power Works

Doug Burgum suggested on Wednesday that solar power would not be available after the sun set.

The secretary of the interior should presumably know how solar power generation works. On Wednesday, Doug Burgum showed that he does not.

Burgum was testifying before the House Natural Resources Committee, and exposed himself under questioning from Democratic Representative Jared Huffman, who brought up energy projects in Nevada.

“All of these projects you’re describing in Nevada have one thing in common—when the sun goes down, they produce zero electricity,” Burgum said, going on to say that other forms of electricity generation would still be needed with solar power and that it is unreliable. Huffman then made a cheeky remark to the committee chair, Republican Representative Bruce Westerman.

“Mr. Chairman, I request unanimous consent to enter in the record this amazing new technology that apparently the secretary is unaware of: It’s a battery. China’s figured it out. That’s why they’re cleaning our clock on clean energy. But I want to enter that into the record,” Huffman said, to a smirk from Westerman.

BURGUM: When the sun goes down, solar produces zero electricity HUFFMAN: I want to enter into the record this amazing new technology that apparently the secretary is unaware of -- it's a battery pic.twitter.com/tPmRhmtnA9— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) May 13, 2026

BURGUM: When the sun goes down, solar produces zero electricity HUFFMAN: I want to enter into the record this amazing new technology that apparently the secretary is unaware of -- it's a battery pic.twitter.com/tPmRhmtnA9

Burgum replied that China being the world’s largest emitter should be part of that submission, to which Huffman replied that China produced “far more clean energy.” Westerman then intervened to end the repartee.

Burgum, formerly the governor of North Dakota, has extensive ties to the oil and gas industry. He shares President Trump’s hostility to cleaner forms of energy, and doesn’t publicly object to Trump’s contention that climate change is a “con job.” But at the very least, Burgum should know that solar energy is aided considerably by battery storage.

The White House Is Hosting a Massive Christian Nationalist Festival

The event, which will be held on the National Mall on Sunday, will last nine hours and “is about the history and the foundations of our nation, which was built on Christian values.”

The White House is planning to host a nine-hour Christian prayer festival at the National Mall on Sunday that pushes the view of the United States as a Christian nation.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, as well as Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, are slated to speak at “Rededicate 250: National Jubilee of Prayer, Praise & Thanksgiving,” which is partly funded by taxpayer dollars set aside for the country’s 250th birthday celebrations.

The other speakers are overwhelmingly Protestant Christian, with notable exceptions being Catholic leaders Bishop Robert Barron and Cardinal Timothy Dolan, as well as Rabbi Meir Soloveichik. The Reverend Paula White-Cain, President Trump’s spiritual adviser, said in a webinar about the event on April 28 that the festival “is about the history and the foundations of our nation, which was built on Christian values, on the Bible.… This is really truly rededicating the country to God.”

White-Cain, who has compared Trump to Jesus, added that the celebration would not include leaders “praying to all these different Gods.”

“We are focusing on our heritage as a Judeo-Christian nation,” Brittany Baldwin, executive director of the White House’s 250 Task Force, also said in the webinar. “We worked very hard with the faith leaders we trust … to ensure that we hear their concerns and we have the right focus for our community of believers, across the country. So I think if you do see another religion represented, it would probably be in a modest way.”

The taxpayer-funded event seems to be at odds with the First Amendment to the Constitution’s establishment clause, which is supposed to guard against a state religion, and has senior members of the government participating. White-Cain’s involvement suggests that the festival will be full of reverence to Trump, even if he isn’t there. Considering that Trump just celebrated a golden statue of himself at his Florida estate that is definitely not an idol, the event seems a little hollow too.

With World Cup 30 Days Away, ICE Still Threatens Fans

Los Angeles organizers have indicated that they have received no guarantees that immigration agents won’t harass or detain traveling fans.

Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agents will be present at the 2026 FIFA tournament, casting an ominous shadow of violent authoritarianism over the beloved event.

Earlier this year, ICE head Todd Lyons announced that the agents would be present at the World Cup just for security, not enforcement. Now, Los Angeles’s World Cup hosting committee can’t even promise that—despite requests from FIFA President Gianni Infantino and strike threats from food and beverage workers, a group that is more likely to be subject to an ICE raid.

“We are working very closely with them to make sure they’re just focused on us, providing us a safe and secure event and nothing else,” committee head Kathryn Schloessman said. “But having said that, I am not the ultimate decision-maker on that.”

ICE’s presence and potential for raids may very well create an absolute nightmare for the U.S., host cities, international fans, and the countless migrant workers behind the scenes.

Trump Team Is Pissed at Aide Secretly Enabling Crazed Nighttime Rants

Natalie Harp is helping Donald Trump make dozens of late-night, conspiracy-laden posts.

Even the president’s inner circle is tiring of his erratic, late-night social media binges—and the White House aide responsible for........

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