Hour 2 - Interior Secretary Doug Burgum

Summary

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The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show

Hour 2 - Interior Secretary Doug Burgum
Date: February 9, 2026
Podcast Host: Clay Travis and Buck Sexton
Episode Theme: Energy Policy, Economic Growth, and National Issues with Secretary Doug Burgum

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Episode Overview

In this engaging hour, Clay Travis and Buck Sexton discuss America’s current energy policies, economic outlook, and the ongoing Nancy Guthrie kidnapping case. Highlighting the Trump administration’s push for energy dominance and deregulation, they are joined by Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum, who dives deep into critical minerals, domestic energy production, and how state policies impact gas prices and economic growth. The show keeps its hallmark light and lively tone with commentary on the Super Bowl halftime show and even musical genres.

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Key Discussion Points

1. U.S. Economic Growth and Energy Policy

• Hosts discuss robust recent GDP numbers under the Trump administration (4% growth reported, 3% for the year) and attribute much of this success to renewed energy policy focus.
• National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett's comments on productivity, labor demand, and immigration's impact on the labor force are highlighted (01:17).
• Burgum underscores the "Drill, baby, drill" approach and whole-of-government coordination on energy, drawing a direct link between affordable energy, consumer prices, and American prosperity (23:05).

2. The Nancy Guthrie Kidnapping

• The case dominates national headlines, with reflections on how personal and random crime feels when it strikes a family.
• Clay and Buck analyze the details, speculating about an inside job given technical sophistication, like disabling cameras and demanding untraceable cryptocurrency (04:23-09:18).
• They discuss how modern technology, DNA evidence, and surveillance usually close cases quickly, making the kidnapping’s persistence striking.
• Buck: "I just feel like they're gonna get caught at some point." (12:45)

3. Super Bowl Halftime Show and American Culture

• Listener calls point out missed opportunities for the NFL to celebrate America’s 250th anniversary with a more unifying show (17:07).
• The hosts criticize Roger Goodell, current NFL commissioner, for prioritizing personal job security over bold, patriotic choices (18:17).
• Light-hearted debates over musical genres and halftime music (20:44-22:27).

4. Interview with Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum

Drill Baby, Drill – Trump’s Energy Policy

• Burgum explains the administration’s all-of-the-above energy policy, focusing on reliable, affordable, U.S.-secure energy (23:05).
• Achievements: U.S. has become the world's #1 LNG exporter, displaced Russian gas in Europe, and driven gasoline prices down.
• Warns about the U.S.-China AI and electricity arms race; underscores need for speed and efficiency in domestic energy production.

Critical Minerals and Strategic National Reserves

• New $12B fund for critical minerals—termed “Project Vault”—to reduce dependence on China for rare earths and vital minerals (26:09).
• Burgum outlines the strategy: U.S. and partner nations form a "club" to coordinate investment, protect against Chinese market dumping, and create a strategic reserve.

“We’ve got to get back into mining in America... This is a great, great solution to ensure America has economic security and can’t be controlled by China.”
— Secretary Doug Burgum [28:00]

State-by-State Gas Prices: Policy Differences

• California’s high gas prices (over $6/gallon) blamed on restrictive policies, foreign oil dependence, and refinery closures versus lower prices in red states (30:15).
• Consequences: High energy costs drive businesses and residents to migrate from states like California and New York to those with lower energy costs.
• Burgum: “Red states with common sense energy policies are beginning to see the benefits right now in terms of growth and low energy costs and capital investment.” (33:14)

Economic Outlook for 2026

• Predicts GDP could surpass 5% with continued deregulation, tax cuts, and accelerated permitting—“trillion and a half dollars” in capital waiting to be deployed (33:33).
• Warns that blue-state policies could cause significant disparity in growth rates.

5. Lighthearted Closing – Sports and Local Pride

• Burgum celebrates North Dakota State University graduates on the Seattle Seahawks’ O-line and the school’s move up to the Mountain West Conference (35:09).
• Quick shoutout to the “Bison” and the importance of regional ties and NCAA sports.

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Notable Quotes & Timestamps

• “GDP growth is through the roof... even with a revised down GDP, now we're looking at 4% growth into the end of the year.”
  — Kevin Hassett [01:17]

• "It feels like it must be, on some level, an inside job, somebody who was close to her to even think to do this in the way they did it."
  — Clay Travis on Nancy Guthrie kidnapping [06:58]

• “If you kill someone that you know, you’re gonna get caught now… But the kidnapping situation here, to me, if you had any prior contact, it starts to get into things like, will you leave DNA behind at the scene?”
  — Buck Sexton [09:18]

• “We’ve got to keep driving forward… We’re in an AI arms race with China, and the country with the most electricity is going to win.”
  — Doug Burgum [24:08]

• “China comes in, dumps a bunch of that particular metal on the market, crushes the price, and you’re out of business. This has happened over and over.”
  — Doug Burgum [26:41]

• "California is actually a national security threat... they import 2/3 of their oil from foreign countries as opposed to being provided from places in America."
  — Doug Burgum [30:28]

• “The GDP in some states could be six, seven, eight. And... New York and California... might be two percent because of their high energy costs.”
  — Doug Burgum [34:22]

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Important Segments & Timestamps

• Opening, Economy Update, Hassett Clip: 00:09 – 02:11
• Discussion: Nancy Guthrie Kidnapping: 02:11 – 14:03
• Cultural/Sports Commentary & Listener Call: 17:01 – 22:27
• Doug Burgum Interview Begins (Energy Policy): 22:27
• Critical Minerals Strategy: 26:09
• State Energy Policy Comparison: 30:15
• Economic Outlook for 2026: 33:33
• NDSU Football, Light Wrap-Up: 35:09

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Engaging Moments

• Critical analysis of the Guthrie case, with hosts transparently noting when they must speculate due to sparse facts.
• Sharp critique of NFL leadership and “culture war” topics, blending humor and pointed opinion.
• Concrete explanations by Doug Burgum on energy strategy, rare earths, and how regulation affects pocketbook issues for listeners.
• Regional pride: Burgum’s shoutout to recent North Dakota State grads and the Bison football program.

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Conclusion

This hour offers a dynamic blend of hard policy, real-world criminal intrigue, American culture debates, and lively banter. Secretary Burgum’s interview provides clear insight into today’s strategic economic and energy decisions, while the hosts remain true to their signature style: spirited, accessible, and occasionally irreverent.

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Transcript

[A]

This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.

[B]

Welcome to today's edition of the Clay Travis and Buck Sexton show podcast.

[A]

Welcome in to the second hour of the Clay Travis and Buck Sexton show. And we have this hour, joining us, the Secretary of the Interior, Doug Bergen. We have got a lot to talk to him about. Secretary of the Interior has very important job in this administration and it has to do with our natural resources, oil, gas, minerals, all that stuff. Some interesting policy implemented or in the process of being implemented by this Trump White House that we want to address with you because there is, as you can tell, a major, major focus from Trump and everybody in his top inner circle on getting the economy running on, on all cylinders here. And do we had 4% growth or something? I mean the numbers are looking great for the last quarter. I just. Clay, can you. What was the growth number I was seeing? It's very.

[B]

Yeah, here we go.

[A]

Here's National Economic Council director Kevin Hassett. We had this on the. You know what, let's hear from the, let's hear from the National Economic Council director. This is cut one play.

[C]

I think that there are two forces that are sort of pushing down and then one force that's pushing up. The force is pushing up is the GDP growth is through the roof. Even with a revised down GDP now we're looking at 4% growth into the end of the year, 3% for the year as a whole, despite the fact that we had a really negative first quarter with Joe Biden. And so that's the positive effect. The negative effects are when there's a productivity boom then maybe you can make the same amount of stuff with fewer workers. And so that might reduce labor demand. And then the other thing is that there's a pretty big decline in the labor force because illegals leaving the country. And so the break even job number is quite a bit lower than it was under Joe Biden when there were people, you know, you know, basically coming across the border willy nilly. And so I think that you should expect slightly smaller job numbers.

[A]

Clay. I mean it wasn't, it wasn't a bad bunny concert he's given there. But this stuff really matters. This is meaningful to all of us. And the economic numbers are looking good. I now we'll get back into this and certainly talk to the Secretary of the Interior, Doug Burgum. He's a billionaire, isn't he? I know something about money. Yeah, he's, he knows about money. He's a guy's got a lot of money, but he really does Know about what he's. What he's trying to implement with policy and how the administration is moving things forward. We'll get into that. But right now, the. The dominant news story still across most. Most platforms, most mediums is this Nancy Guthrie kidnapping story. No, I understand it. First of all, it's. There's something particularly horrific and hits home about a senior citizen member of your family just disappearing from their home, Being disappeared from their home in something like this. It does have that, Clay, that this could happen to anyone feeling, which always, you know, always hits harder, I think, when people say, oh, this could have been my mom or my grandma. And so that is getting a lot of attention. Obviously, Savannah Guthrie is a prominent news personality, and so that's getting a lot of attention. Here is the late. We didn't play this yet. Right. I'm just making sure. The latest video here is Savannah Guthrie released a video speaking, well, to the American people, but also trying to reach, I suppose, the hostage taker or takers. This is cut to play it.

[B]

We received your message, and we understand. We beg you now to return our mother to us so that we can celebrate with her. This is the only way we will have peace. This is very valuable to us, and we will pay.

[A]

What. What's your sense of. Of all of this? I mean, guys, just to be clear, usually we give you. We give you hard facts, news, and then we analyze. In this case, there's going to be some speculation because there's so few facts that it. It feels very amorphous as a story.

[B]

So it's been nine days.

[A]

I.

[B]

And I'm going to be honest with you, the fact that kidnappers in this day and age could hold someone with this many people searching for nine days and be communicating in theory in some way and not be tracked down. I'm stunned by all of this. I did a bunch of reading over the weekend to try to make sure that I was as informed about this as I could be. My speculation, Buck, is it has to in some way be an incredibly detailed planned inside job. And you say, okay, Clay, what's your evidence for that? They turned the cameras off on her house somehow. So there was a camera outside that would have recorded everything. They somehow got it turned off in the time before they. They took her. Somehow they were not captured anywhere in the neighborhood. Remember, like, take a step back, Buck, When. When the Idaho killings happened, they were able to go back and use cell phone data to figure out who exactly was in that area. They also were able to use all these different Cameras from the area because it was late at night. And we know the murders in Idaho happened around 2am If I remember correctly. And the reality is there's relatively few people on the streets around 2am I understand that they say that this. This location where she was kidnapped from is fairly, fairly, fairly rural in some way. Meaning it's not as if you're a One house is right on top of everybody else. But how many cars would have even been on the road at 2am in this area? I would think there's a gap. They kind of got it, caught some stuff at a gas station that was nearby that had an outdoor viewing. I'm sure they're reviewing all these different cars, but there's just not going to be that many cars on the road in the 2am hour that would have been able to get in and out, I don't think, and kidnap her. There's not going to be that many cell phones pinging in that location now. They could turn them off. But it feels very strongly planned. And I come back to something that I said right off the top and I could be wrong about this. I don't think that most people would have any idea who Savannah Guthrie's mom is. So I understand that she's wealthy and she's somewhat famous. I think people who knew her would know who her daughter is. I don't think that Nancy Guthrie herself is so famous that people would have been able to target her because of her fame. I don't think most people who are famous, we know who their moms are. I'll give you just random. You know who Drake's mom is? I've got no idea. Right. Know who Bad Bunny's mom is? I've got no idea. Do you know who you know? Unless the mom is. Like I mentioned JD Vance's mom because she spoke at the national convention. Sometimes the mom is a part of the story of the son or daughter and that makes them famous. It doesn't appear that that was the case here. So to me, this is someone local that knew Nancy Guthrie very well, knew that Savannah had money and this was a super planned attempt to kidnap her. With the idea being that we're going to get millions of dollars and get away with it. I don't think that's very likely. I just. I. And I understand they're asking for. I think it's $6 million in crypto to get her back. I'm sure Savannah Guthrie would pay any dollar figure and I would think that she would have $6 million to be able to get her mom back. Uh, the crypto, I understand, is relatively untraceable, and that's why they want that. And it vanishes. Uh, but it just. The fact that this could go on for nine days, Even the way that she speaks in those videos, she's a professional TV person. It's as if there is a request that she use certain words in those videos. The way that she's speaking doesn't even feel natural and organic to me. And I know that a lot of you have a ton of takes on this. This is the, you know, number one story that everybody is covering. The deadline is coming up tonight. The whole thing is very, very strange to me, and it feels like it must be, on some level, an inside job, somebody who was close to her to even think to do this in the way that they did it. Does that make sense to you? You worked in the CIA. I'm just trying to piece together all the information that we have and try to make sense of it right now. And that seems like the most logical analysis to me.

[A]

I think your analysis is sound. There's just so little to go on here. One thing that, you know, I spent some time back in the day, the nypd, with some longtime guys who had been homicide detectives. And this is not something that is thought only by them. It's not like new thinking. But in this day and age, if you. If you kill someone that you know you're gonna get caught now, will you be convicted? That's another question. But they're gonna know that it's. It's very hard to kill someone that you have contact with that you have a, you know, any kind of a previous interaction with, and then not to be able to figure that out. This is why, you know, any kind of, like a murder for hire situation, you know, you often get the person that did the hiring, actually, sometimes even before you'll find the. You know, you'll find out more about the actual killer. Because if you had no contact beforehand anyway, the kidnapping situation here, to me, if you had any prior contact, it starts to get into things like, will you leave DNA behind at the scene? Would it be expected for you to. That's always a big thing that they go for the cell phones, obviously. And I'm not, like, giving anything away. I'm just a civilian who, you know, watches CSI like everybody else. But, you know, they. They go for your cell phones, they go to see who pings on towers, they go through surveillance footage, and then they look for evidence at the scene. And primarily Clay, that's going to be. Obviously, in this kind of a case, did the person leave behind DNA, hair, any kind of skin cells? Obviously fingerprints. But fingerprints are pretty easy to not leave behind if you know what you're doing. But DNA is a lot tougher. I mean, that's why, if you remember in the end of the movie the Departed, not to give away anything, but when. What's his name, Marky. Mark. Mark Wahlberg shows up, he.

[B]

Oh, you've not never seen the Departed?

[A]

This is crazy.

[B]

Am I the only person in America who hasn't seen the Departed? I actually, I've never watched.

[A]

You are in the. I would, I would wager the 10% of this audience who has not seen the departed, I bet 90% of our audience has seen the Departed. That's, That's. I mean, I think it won Best Picture, didn't it? Not that that really means it's been out.

[B]

I know it's been out a while. Yeah, A lot of those movies came out when my kids were young and I just wasn't that often, you know, like, going to movie theaters for about six or seven years there, and that was in that window.

[A]

Anyway, at the end of the Departed. Sorry, Clay, Mark Wahlberg shows up and he's dressed in a, like a head to toe, almost like he's in a hazmat suit kind of a thing. That's. So he doesn't leave DNA at the scene. Yeah, I mean, but that's what it would require generally to Not. Because you're talking about skin cells, hair. I mean, you're just, you're. You're shedding all the time. So you would think, Clay, that they would have some ability. But it gets complicated because if somebody already knew them, was already there, there's a lot of people that might have been coming and going in that house. How do you separate this out? My thing is just this kidnapper is the expectation is they'll be able to do this and then they'll get away. To me, that it just seems like a very bad. I. I know they're going with bitcoin, which is the idea is that that will be hard to. Or. Or basically impossible to. To trace. And it's glo. You can access it globally. But I just feel like they're gonna. They're gonna get caught at some point.

[D]

Some point.

[A]

But maybe, maybe I'm overly, overly optimistic on that.

[B]

The other thing I would add in is her blood was found on the front porch, suggesting that there was some form of struggle in the way that she was taken. If that is accurate. I mean, I guess it's possible that they took a vial of her blood and intentional like. Right. I mean you can work through how the blood could have gotten there without it being a violent struggle. Uh, but typically in a violent struggle there is some sort of injury in both directions. If she were bleeding, um, I know she's 84, but even an 84 year old fighting back nails everything else can create a crime scene. Um, so it would seem to me to your point, Buck, unless they're showing up in hazmat suits, that there would be some evidence that that would be left behind here. And if they did show up in hazmat suits, it circles back around to this was an extremely detailed and planned abduction. But it all just, it is so strange all the details that have taken place here and we'll see whether we're going to get some sort of resolution to come out of this. But it is very, very strange.

[A]

Look, you want to be able to defend yourself and we're talking about a situation here that's obviously very serious. Crime has occurred. And even if you're in a pretty safe part of the country, stuff happens. And the most important thing of all is not what the crime stats for your neighborhood or for your county say. It's are you prepared if the day comes, this is where Sabre comes in. Sabre is simply the best when it comes to non lethal personal and self defense defense of your home and your family. They've been in business Sabre for over 50 years providing families and individuals with the absolutely top of the line non lethal protection that you can get. And protection doesn't just stop at your front door with things. You've also got the Sabre pepper spray, pepper gels and stun guns. But for a lot of people really the entry, entry point here for them is going to be to get the Sabre home defense launcher. It fires powerful pepper projectiles to stop the threat in a non lethal form. I have non lethal. I have plenty of lethal here too in my home. I'm a believer in having both and having those options. Saberradio.com is the website to go to the best non lethal self defense products you'll find anywhere. Start with that pepper launcher but add in pepper sprays, gels, stun guns, whole range of home and self defense products. Go to s a b r e radio.com or call 844-824 safe.

[E]

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[B]

Hey, Buck. One of my kids called me an unk the other day.

[A]

An unk?

[B]

Yep. Slaying, evidently. For not being hip, being an old dude.

[A]

So how do we un unk you?

[B]

Get more people to subscribe to our YouTube channel. At least that's what my kids tell me.

[A]

That's simple enough. Just search the Clay, Travis and Buck Sexton show and hit the subscribe button.

[B]

Takes less than five seconds to help. Un unk me.

[A]

Do it for clay, do it for freedom. And get great content while you're there. The Clay, Travis and buck Sexton Show YouTube channel.

[B]

All right, let's run through some of these calls. Robert in Indiana is back with us. Robert, what you got?

[F]

Yeah, I just wanted to. First, I want to say I really enjoy listening to you guys. You're factual, you're truthful, your patriots. And that means a lot to me.

[A]

Thank you.

[F]

And then I wanted to comment on the halftime show, you know, being it's the 250th year anniversary of our great nation, the greatest nation. It would seem to me that the theme should have been around that.

[B]

Thank you for the call and thanks for the feedback on the show. That's a good call. It is the 250th anniversary of the country America. 2:50. This is the only opportunity for anyone out there to celebrate 2:50 in the Super Bowl. Cause 2:51 next February. Yeah, that would have been a good move for Roger Goodell to potentially raise. And again, I think one of the challenges, Buck, is we. We think of people who make. And Roger Goodell does $40 million a year.

[D]

He said.

[B]

He's outrageous.

[A]

By the way, there are a thousand people who can do that job. Why is he making 40 million a year? Just because he's the biggest piggy at the trough.

[B]

He makes $40 million a year, and in order to keep that 40 million, I mean, I could 100% do that job better than Roger Goodell could. And that's not me being cocky. That's just. I'm younger. I understand the dynamics of the job, I think, better than he does. Um, but he's a coward. Clay would. He's 30, by the way.

[A]

He'd do it for 30.

[B]

I do it for 30. But he's not doing what's in the best interest of the league. He's doing what's in the best interest of him. Not getting noticed for being the commissioner of the league. And if he raises his hand and says, I don't know, if we need bad money, somebody's going to say, well, that's racist of you, Roger. The only way he loses his job is if people decide that he's racist. And. And so he's not doing what's in the best interest of the. The entity. And so many people are doing the same thing. He's just doing whatever he can to keep his job. Maybe he needs a little bit more testosterone in his life. Maybe he needs a little bit more chalk. Maybe then he would have said, hey, you know What? It's America 250. Let's have a Super bowl that everybody can love. Maybe let's even have a Super bowl halftime performance in English so that everybody can understand what's actually being said. Said doesn't seem like a crazy idea to me. And maybe if Roger Goodell would sign up for chalk, he would have much higher testosterone, and maybe he would have the spine to stand up to the morons inside of his company and make the best decision for the NFL. And if he did, he could go to chalk.com, choq.com, my name, Clay. For the best discount for life. Cetna Texan has built a fabulous American company about making you the best version of yourself and making you have the highest level of all Natural testosterone possible. Chalk.com.

[A]

I guess we're not going to have any Bad Bunny music on the Rejoins here. So that's. That's. We got that going for us.

[B]

Here's the truth, Buck. I wouldn't even know if we did play a Bad Bunny song on the Rejoin. Oh, like, I. I just. I. I don't even have any idea what the guy sings in addition to not being able to understand it. Like, I remember that. The only part of that show that I knew was I remember that. That song Gasolina or whatever it was. It was super popular back in the day.

[A]

It's not even his song from what I correct. Some other guy's song.

[B]

Yeah, but that was the only part of it where I was like, oh, I remember having heard this before.

[A]

Again, I live in Miami, so I am exposed to certain genres of music on a regular basis. And I would. I think that. I think that reggaeton may be the worst music in existence. Like, as a genre, I think it might be the worst. What's up?

[B]

It's R and B, as I have argued before.

[A]

Oh, no, no, no. That's. That's. That. That is. That is a. We're just gonna. That's a bless your heart, take clay. That's a bless your heart, take that.

[B]

At least reggaeton. Reggaeton or however you pronounce it, like reggae Tom. Whatever it is, at least it has a beat that is positive and uplifting. Whereas R and B is just like, I want to drown my soul because some relationship I had is bad and I'm going to sing about it for 48 consecutive minutes.

[A]

I. I just. I can't believe you throw boys to men under the bus like this. I don't even know it's the end of the road. What to say, what. It makes everyone very sad as we get into this. I think reggaeton may be the worst music in existence. I don't know. Death metal, you know, is that really even a genre, though? I think it's just really bad. Heavy metal, like a heavy metal can be awesome.

[B]

So this is where I'm gonna sound like you.

[A]

I.

[B]

If it's super loud, I just. I really don't enjoy it. I'm just like, ah, it's so loud. Like, why do. Why do you want to scream at me? Like, I don't need, like the whole death metal thing. I. Doug Burgum is going to join us now, and I bet he's never had the previous lead in for his. For any of his interviews be death metal analysis. Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum with us now. We.

[A]

Secretary, appreciate you, sir. Thank you for being here. Let's. Let's die. Let's thank.

[B]

Thank you.

[A]

Thank you. Let's talk. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[D]

Enjoying listening into the commentary.

[A]

Thank you. Well, we try to do a good show. Tell us this.

[E]

The.

[A]

We got a lot of questions for you. First up, U.S. oil production. Drill baby drill. The Trump energy plan bring us up to speed. Ice is getting a lot of attention. The overall economy is getting a lot of attention. Where are we on unlocking America's energy potential and bringing us into a 21st century footing for all of the above.

[D]

Well, we're all of the above if it includes affordable, reliable and US Secure energy. That's the common sense policy of President Trump and drill, baby, drill, one of his main campaign promises. He's delivered on it through a whole of government approach, creating the National Energy Dominance Council. We've got everybody in the cabinet basically working to execute, to deliver on this. And you know, a year ago, think of it, a year ago there was a Biden ban on LNG export facilities. Now the US Number one exporter in the world, we've displaced two thirds of Russian gas in Europe, taking a whack out of their, their pocketbook. We've, you know, we got real teeth behind sanctions around the world, which then means that China is going to have to start paying the full price as opposed to discounted price for oil. And then back at home, we've dropped the price of gasoline at the pump. And of course, we've done that dramatically in one year with the record number of drilling permits going out, working hard, make sure we get the price of electricity down, which was driven up by these crazy climate extremist policies in parts of our country. So that's one area where we've really been really, really delivered on. But we got to keep driving. We got to keep driving forward to make sure, because we're in a, we're in an AI arms race with China and the country with the most electricity is going to win. And we can be ahead in chips, we can be ahead in software. But if China is crushing us in terms of how fast they're bringing electricity online, we've got to get back to America being able to build great things, build them quickly. And the energy dominance is also about critical minerals. We can talk about that too. But I mean, that's another area where we got to make up a bunch of lost ground. Not just drill, baby, drill, but we got a mine, baby mine in this country. And of course, why does this matter to your listeners? If you're the car you drive, the food you eat, the clothes on your back, the home you heat, everything, everything has got an energy component in it. When we bring the price of energy down, we're bringing down the price of everything. And when we do it American with American energy that improves, that's bringing prosperity at home and peace abroad is the core to the agenda. You can't separate national security or national economy from energy policy. President Trump has got it dialed in and totally got it figured out and got a great team across the board working on it.

[A]

One thing Secretary Bergam, I want to ask you before I hand over to Clay is I thought this was really interesting, that there is a fund that the U.S. so the Trump administration has established to invest in critical minerals. And you know, we talk about rare earth and we talk about these things on the policy side. Can you discuss a little bit about this? I mean, what, what is the criteria to invest here? What would these investments hopefully do and can we expect this is like this $5 billion fund alongside Orion Resource Partners? I thought this was a really interesting story that I read recently in Bloomberg.

[D]

Well, yes, yes, it is, Buck. And it's again, when you've got the dealmaker in chief and a business guy running the country, then you can come up with creative solutions. This is the parallel to what most Americans would know that we've got a US Strategic Petroleum Reserve where we had a bank of oil that was owned by the federal government to create a buffer in case of a time of crisis. We had nothing relative to US Strategic Critical Minerals Reserve. And so we became, like most countries in the world, completely dependent on China. China, whether they're doing the mining at home or mining abroad, like in Africa or Indonesia, they were doing the refining of those minerals back in China. They control 85 to 100% of the refining and then they can control the export of those. So last year they threatened to stop the exports of, of the things that we need to build a car, build a cell phone, all of these things. We were within weeks of shutting down car manufacturing in the US because of China's stranglehold on these minerals, in part because we've spent decades deciding that we were going to get out of the mining business in this country and we've got to get back into mining in America. So, okay, get back into mining, I open a mine, I'm going to do refining. China comes in, dumps a bunch of that particular metal on the market, crushes the price, and you're out of business. This has happened over and over in America and around the world, where China was just using their illegal trade tactics to try to crush new startups and new entries to maintain their grip on this. So this thing that you're describing in combination with a club of nations where this last week hosted at the State department, we had J.D. marco, Chris Wright, Howard Lutnick, Scott Bessant, myself, everybody involved in this thing, across the whole of government, over 50 nations here wanting to join a club of nations where you could Trade freely around critical minerals amongst each other with a price floor that would then allow the capital to start flowing back in this industry, protected from the illegal activities of the trade side. But on the project called Project Vault, which is the Critical minerals strategic reserve, that was again, President Trump, hey, can we do this without tax dollars? Yes. Can we go faster if we don't have to go through Congress? Yes. So ex im bank putting up $10 billion. You mentioned orion and others. There's other companies that are stepping in, providing equity against that. And so close to $12 billion that will then begin the foundation of over 60 critical minerals. We'll have 60 different stockpiles for all of these minerals that we need to keep our industry going, whether it's defense tech, regular tech, or whether it's the refrigerator in your home or things you need for new construction or your power drill in your shop that, your hand power drill, those have got magnets that have critical minerals. So these are everywhere. Your phone's got 4, 42 different critical minerals in it. So this is a great, great solution to, to ensure that America has economic security and can't be, can't be controlled by, by China controlling the export of these minerals.

[B]

Secretary of the Interior Doug Bergam on with us now. So many people, every time we talk about the price of oil and gas, I say, where I live in Tennessee, hey, the price of oil and gas is down, significant when I go to the gas station. And then inevitably we hear from so many people who have the misfortune of living in blue states, that price of oil and gas still very high where they are. I do think this is instructive. How much of, let's say, let's pick California. How much of California and what Californians have to pay for oil and gas in their state is a function of the policy choices being made in California. And how would those policy choices differ, say with Texas or Florida or Tennessee? And in terms of just what it costs to drive around in your car every day?

[D]

Well, the great example, Clay, with California, but it's, it's easily, on any given day, it could be 50%. I mean, it could be double. I mean, if you're paying, you know, $2.49 in some other state with common sense policies, we have someplace in the country that under two bucks now for, for, for regular gas, California regularly, five bucks. You can go to parts of California, Southern California, where it's over, you know, six or seven. And then you say, how is that happening? Well, these policies, which are driven by climate extremities Take California right now. California is actually a national security threat, its policies to the whole country because they have, they import 2/3. 63% of California's oil is being imported from foreign countries as opposed to be provided from places you know in America by a pipeline. So by ship. The number one country that's importing into California right now is Iraq. They're importing that oil. They used to have 40 refineries, now they've got eight. Two of the eight, Chevron and Valero have announced plans to close so they're going down to six refineries. So now I'm shipping my oil in from Iraq around the world, paid, paying for that transportation to get it here. And then when it gets here now I can't find a refinery because they've shut, they're shutting down and choking refineries with their, with their regulations. This is the state clay that has the most number of internal combustion vehicles in the country. They have more internal combustion vehicles than any other state even has vehicles. And they were trying to ban these things and they're the number one thing. So when they say we're going to ban them, they're just driving the cost up on their consumers. Which is why the two things that states, the two states like New York and California, which are poster childs for climate extremist polish, they're leading the nation in out migration. I mean people can't afford to live there. And there's a whole wave of, of the next generation of industry is going to be driven by the price of electricity because you aren't going to build, you wouldn't build a flour mill 100 years ago in some places where wheat cost three times as much. What you need to manufacture intelligence is you need electricity. And if electricity costs three times as much, if your energy costs for transportation are double, no one's going to build manufacturing plants there where I got to load it into a truck and pay double for my fuel than I do in some other state. So not only people are out migrating now, capital is not flowing into those states. And they used to be like, oh we're New York, you know, we're California, it'll just come here. No, it is reversing out of those two states. So these policies are going to create a tale of like the tale of two cities. It's going to be a tale of two approaches and you know, red states with common sense energy policies are beginning to see the benefits right now in terms of the, of growth and low energy costs and capital investment.

[B]

I know it's early in 2026, but you have a great background in business in addition to running much of American energy policy right now. What do you think the GDP is going to look like in 2026 as the economic policies of the Trump administration come online? What should we expect?

[D]

Well, I think you're going to see numbers that we've not seen before. Many people in their lifetime haven't seen numbers north of 5. And that's, you know, possible. We could have been, we could have hit there this fall already if not for the Schumer, you know, shutdown in D.C. where you shut down the government for 40 plus days. You know, that's an impact. But when you lower taxes and lower regulation and then speed up permitting, I mean, people don't talk about permitting. There's a trillion and a half dollars with a T that's been approved by boards of directors, by companies, by small businesses that said, I want to invest this capital in America to a project that's going to help move things forward and they can't get their permits done. So we've got this like giant logjam of capital that could also flow into the economy in the terms of capital investment, you know, meaning new factories, new infrastructure, things that we need that benefit and raise the productivity of everybody. That. So anyway, I'm expecting the numbers to be big, but then when they come, it's just going to be like your gas prices. The GDP in some states, you know, could be seven, you know, six, seven, eight. And then you're going to have places like New York and California where it might be 2% because, because of their high, their high energy costs. High energy costs slow down economic growth. So, you know, when we say the GDP of the country, it's an average of the whole country. Again, individual results may vary. Check your zip code. Move to a place where they've got common sense policies.

[B]

No doubt. We appreciate all the work. Look forward to talking to you again down the line. And thanks for the time today.

[D]

Well, and I don't want to impose, but we got one thing on sports. I'm not a Seattle Seahawks fan, nor a Patriots fan. I grew up in eastern North Dakota, where we were had to suffer through the trauma of the Vikings losing four Super Bowls in quick succession. But there were two North Dakota State University recent graduates on that offensive line of Seattle opening it up for Walker to be the mvp. And, you know, shout out, shout out to those Bison for the great job up front.

[B]

No doubt. Didn't the Bison just announced that they're joining a new conference, if I'm not mistaken for going forward. I think they're going to be stepping up play a little bit. If I'm not mistaken. It have been very successful over the years with North Dakota State.

[D]

Well, yes, you know, with the 1111 championships in the last 15 years in FCS, they're moving up to FBS and they're joining the Mountain West. It was announced announced today I think think officially rumored yesterday. But you know, here we go. So it's going to be be fun traveling to Hawaii, New Mexico, Wyoming, San Jose State and many more. I think they're going to it's going to be a great, a great step up, great conference and and some new rivalries to be established.

[B]

No doubt. It's going to be fun to watch. Appreciate the time.

[D]

Okay. Thank you, Clay. Thank you, Buck.

[B]

That is Secretary of the Interior Doug Burke. Great guy. I had a breakfast with him recently out here in Nashville. Really, really impressed. All right, let me hit you with a couple of things here. So we got a break. Cozy Earth. If you want some better product in your home that's gonna make you warmer, that's gonna be softer, that's gonna be great to sleep on. We've got everything Cozy Earth in my home, including the cuddle blanket which my sister tried and said I gotta have one of these immediately. Didn't even know that they did advertising on the program. You get 100 day money back guarantee, 10 year warranty. You get 20% off everything right now, including the cuddle blanket. If you go to cozyearth.com right now, use my name Clay. That's cozyearth.com right Now. My name Clay. To get hooked up. Cozyearth.com my name Clay. Do it today. Quick turn here. Clay Travis Buck Sexton show when we come back, here's a promise. We'll get to your calls. So we appreciate all the people who are waiting. We'll also get to your talkbacks and we'll talk about voter id. I'll tell you what I think is a super positive result, that of culture notwithstanding the bad bunny performance that we saw in particular a Budweiser Wiser ad. I don't know if we hardly talked about this, Buck. The Washington Post largely has eliminated about a third of its staff and more. All that still coming next.

[A]

This is an iHeart podcast, Guaranteed Human.