Doug Burgum, the interior secretary and President Trump’s energy czar, is on a weeklong swing through the Middle East and Europe, with stops in Abu Dhabi for a major oil summit and in Athens for a global energy gathering.
Mr. Burgum has suggested that one goal of the trip is to negotiate more sales of American oil and gas to the rest of the world, one of the president’s top priorities.
Yet some critics are questioning whether it’s appropriate for the interior secretary to be traveling abroad at taxpayer expense when the federal government is shut down. One of Mr. Burgum’s main responsibilities is oversight of national parks, which are suffering damage and illegal activity during the shutdown because of low staffing levels.
“As national parks are either closed or operating on skeleton crews, I can’t imagine anything more disconnected than for the secretary of interior to jet off to these places and schmooze with oil oligarchs,” said Representative Jared Huffman of California, the top Democrat on the House Natural Resources Committee. Mr. Huffman questioned whether Mr. Burgum flew on commercial or private planes and at what cost to taxpayers.
Mr. Burgum appears to have taken a short ride in a helicopter chartered by Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, or Adnoc, according to a video that the company posted on LinkedIn. The video showed Mr. Burgum flying over the world’s second-largest offshore oil field northwest of Abu Dhabi.
Katie Martin, a spokeswoman for the Interior Department, declined to answer specific questions about the trip and blamed Democrats for the shutdown.
“Secretary Burgum has made it clear: our adversaries don’t take days off, and neither does this administration,” Ms. Martin wrote in an email.
In addition to his role as interior secretary, Mr. Burgum directs the White House National Energy Dominance Council, a group advising Mr. Trump on energy policy. Taylor Rogers, a spokeswoman for the White House, redirected questions to the Interior Department.
Funding for Mr. Burgum’s office did not lapse when the government shutdown began on Oct. 1, since Congress had appropriated money for the office on a two-year basis.
Mr. Burgum’s supporters say the shutdown shouldn’t stop him from striking deals with Middle Eastern countries to purchase more U.S. energy. On Sunday, Mr. Burgum urged other countries to buy more liquefied natural gas from the United States during a speech at a global security meeting in Manama, Bahrain.
“If he’s trying to get more investment interests in places like Alaska from Middle East countries, then I’m all for it,” said Senator Dan Sullivan, Republican of Alaska.
Senator Kevin Cramer, Republican of North Dakota, said he applauded Mr. Burgum’s activities. “If it’s for the good of the country, which I assume it is, I admire him for working during the shutdown when a lot of his people are probably furloughed,” he said.
With most National Park Service rangers furloughed or working without pay, some national parks have fallen into disarray during the shutdown, said Emily Thompson, executive director of the Coalition to Protect America’s National Parks, an advocacy group. Trash has overflowed across trails at Olympic National Park in Washington State and Joshua Tree National Park in California, she said.
At Gettysburg National Military Park in Pennsylvania, people toppled and damaged a stone wall near a Civil War battlefield. In Utah’s Arches National Park, people illegally drove off-road vehicles across the desert. And in California’s Yosemite National Park, some visitors illegally went BASE jumping off the 3,000-foot wall of El Capitan. BASE jumping involves parachuting off fixed objects such as buildings or cliffs.
“While our parks and public lands languish largely unstaffed, Burgum has exited the scene,” said Elizabeth Villano, a spokeswoman for Resistance Rangers, a group of off-duty and former park rangers and supporters. “We call on him to do his job as secretary of the interior, protecting our nation’s irreplaceable natural and cultural heritage. This is not a job that allows for remote work from Bahrain.”
On Monday, Mr. Burgum met with Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the president of the United Arab Emirates, and signed a memorandum of understanding to expand collaboration on energy and artificial intelligence between the two nations. Mr. Burgum also spoke Monday at the Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition and Conference, where he announced that the United States was convening a “club” of countries that would trade critical minerals.
Later this week, Mr. Burgum is scheduled to speak at an energy conference in Athens. Chris Wright, the energy secretary, is also a confirmed speaker at the Partnership for Transatlantic Energy Cooperation meeting.
In past government shutdowns, presidents and cabinet members have generally scaled back their schedules.
Yet more than a month into the current shutdown, Mr. Trump and his cabinet members have appeared to continue business as usual.
On Friday, Mr. Trump hosted a “Great Gatsby”-inspired party at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida after returning from a six-day swing through Asia. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth completed a two-day trip to Vietnam on Monday. And Vice President JD Vance recently traveled to Israel, while Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin went to Nevada and Oregon.
Maxine Joselow covers climate change and the environment for The Times from Washington.
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