Sen. Heidi Heitkamp met Friday with President-elect Trump and discussed “a realistic path forward for coal,” as well as the”complexities” of the embattled Dakota Access oil pipeline, among other topics, she said.
Heitkamp issued the statement following a meeting with Trump and Vice President-elect Mike Pence that has spurred talk of Trump nominating the first Democrat to his administration, possibly as Energy secretary or Environmental Protection Agency administrator.
But Heitkamp, who represents North Dakota, made no mention of a job offer in the statement.
“President-elect Trump and I had a thoughtful and wide-ranging discussion on a variety of issues important to North Dakota and the country,” Heitkamp said. “We talked about finding a realistic path forward for coal and combating human trafficking, as well as the Export-Import Bank and keeping jobs in the U.S., energy infrastructure including the complexities of the Dakota Access pipeline and the challenges for law enforcement as well as the Keystone [XL] pipeline, and the issues facing small community banks that help support rural towns.”
Heitkamp said she talked to Trump about her own small-town, working-class background.
“I’m from a town of just 90 people from a rural state and my upbringing as the daughter of a seasonal construction worker and a school cook,” Heitkamp said. “I appreciate him being generous with his time, and I look forward to working with him and all of my colleagues in Congress, both Republicans and Democrats, to reach results for North Dakota and the country.”
