Interior Sec. Ryan Zinke stepping down, President Trump says, amid ethics cloud
Interior Sec. Ryan Zinke stepping down, President Trump says, amid ethics cloud
The U.S. Department of Interior spent $139,000 to fix doors in Secretary Ryan Zinke’s office. The price is more than double the median U.S. household income in 2017.
USA TODAY
WASHINGTON – Ryan Zinke, the embattled secretary of the Interior, is leaving the administration at the end of the year, President Donald Trump said Saturday, noting that his replacement will be announced next week.
"Ryan has accomplished much during his tenure and I want to thank him for his service to our Nation," Trump said on Twitter.
A former Montana congressman, Zinke, 57, has been embroiled in several investigations, including one the department's Inspector General reportedly referred to the Department of Justice recently for potential prosecution.
That case involves Zinke’s role in a Whitefish, Montana, land development deal, according to The Washington Post, which also reported Trump was concerned about the situation.
His departure comes only weeks before Democrats take over control of the House, armed with subpoena power that could add to Zinke's political woes.
Kieran Suckling, executive director of the Center for Biological Diversity, said Zinke "will go down as the worst Interior secretary in history.”
“His slash-and-burn approach was absolutely destructive for public lands and wildlife," Suckling said in a statement on Saturday.
The Arizona-based, nonprofit center that supports the protection of endangered species, has accused Zinke, among other things, of reducing protection for public lands and wildlife without public input.
The flamboyant former Navy SEAL wielded an unflinching demeanor as the head of a sprawling agency that has roughly 70,000 employees, manages the country's natural resources on land and offshore, and oversees federal lands that collectively make up a fifth of the country.
He also made addressing the nearly $12 billion national park maintenance backlog a priority, though an agency proposal last year to double many fees at 17 of the nation's most-visited parks during peak season died after fierce public opposition.
He often clashed with lawmakers.
Usually it was with Democrats over ethical issues or Trump's energy and environmental policies, such as the shrinking of national monuments. Arizona Rep. Raúl Grijalva, the top Democrat on the House Natural Resources Committee, said Zinke's agency routinely "ignored" his requests for information and documents regarding the department's decisions.
But he also caught heat in late 2017 for pressuring both of Alaska's senators –Republicans Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan – to support an upcoming vote on an Obamacare repeal bill in what was viewed as a threat that the state (more than half of which is fedeal land) would somehow suffer if they opposed it.
Murkowski ended up opposing the bill, which was narrowly defeated, but she and Zinke shared beers to show there were no hard feelings.
Zinke ran the agency with what some viewed as a heavy hand.
A survey released in August of federal scientists and researchers across several agencies, including Interior, said that under the Trump administration, political concerns outweigh scientific rigor and budget cuts hamper their mission
One survey respondent from the U.S. Geological Survey said an Interior Department directive requiring that a political appointee review research grants of $50,000 or more to make sure they align with Secretary Ryan Zinke's priorities "impedes new and ongoing research."
A spokeswoman for Zinke at the time said "asking to ensure that discretionary grants aren’t used for frivolous purposes is sound management, not politics."
Zinke was also at the center of other controversies, including:
Travel: The IG admonished Zinke for his use of military charters, including one in June 2017 that cost $12,375 for a trip to speak at the developmental camp for the Golden Knights, a professional hockey team based in Las Vegas, He also was criticized by lawmakers for spending more than $53,000 on three helicopter trips in 2017, including one that returned him to Washington in time to take a horseback ride with Vice President Mike Pence, according to The Associated Press.
Office remodeling: Zinke drew criticism earlier this year for moving forward with the replacement of three sets of doors at its historic headquarters, costing nearly $139,000. A spokeswoman for Zinke said at the time he was unaware of the contract before reporters started asking about it. The work is part of a decade-long modernization of the 1936 building that began before Zinke took office in March 2017.
Offshore drilling exemption for Florida: Zinke made a big deal in January when, after the president unveiled his plan to open up 90 percent of the Outer Continental Shelf off the U.S. coast to oil and gas exploration, he flew to Florida and revealed the Sunshine State would be exempt from offshore drilling. It was seen as a political gambit and a huge gift to Florida Gov. Rick Scott, who weeks later decided to challenge Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla. But The Washington Post later reported the move caused some friction within the White House because it was not coordinated with the West Wing's political shop.
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