Zinke has voted against efforts to designate new national parks that would diversify the National Park System. As the Post reported, he’s also worked for full funding of the Land and Water Conservation Fund, which outdoors groups strongly support.
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President-elect Donald Trump has selected Montana Rep. Ryan Zinke to be his Interior Secretary, according to multiple news reports. Trump’s transition team did not immediately respond to a request for comment, nor did Zinke’s congressional office.
In Congress, Zinke has often voted against environmentalists on coal, oil and gas extraction issues.
Most elected Utah officials, including Gov. Gary Herbert, clamor for the transfer of some 30 million acres of federal lands in Utah to state ownership. In 2006 he was awarded two Bronze Stars for combat. The American Association for the Advancement of Science says: “The scientific evidence is clear: global climate change caused by human activities is occurring now, and it is a growing threat to society”. Trump has said he would work to review, and likely try to undo, much of what the agency has done over the past several years under President Barack Obama.
In a speech last week, Trump said he would follow Theodore Roosevelt’s lead and and “conserve and protect our lovely natural resources for the next generation including protecting lands”.
He supported Mr. Trump early on during the campaign, and he met with the president-elect Monday at Trump Tower. “But I do get a little emotional about Benghazi, and I like the rest of America want answers”.
“As a westerner, Ryan understands the challenges of having the federal government as your largest neighbor and I couldn’t think of a better fit for Secretary of the Interior”, Daines said.
Reports Friday indicated Rep. McMorris Rodgers, the highest ranking Republican woman in Congress, would be Trump’s selection for the job. She has not spoken to Trump about the position, either.
McMorris Rodgers posted a statement to Facebook Tuesday evening that indicated she wouldn’t be the nominee. He was a Navy SEAL from 1985 until 2008, when he joined the Montana State Legislature.
Zinke majored in geology while playing football at the University of OR and later earned an MBA and a Masters in Global Leadership at the University of San Diego’s business school. Zinke’s nomination is subject to senate approval.
The last time the state held a special election to fill a vacated House seat was in 1969, when Representative James Battin resigned to serve as a federal judge. “You know, 39 days ago, we thought Montanans had chosen a Republican to serve them in Washington, D.C., and he chose to take another job”.
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Zinke is being considered for Department of the Interior, Veteran Affairs or Department of Energy.
