Republican Zinke will retire

His retirement could make Montana's 1st District more competitive for Democrats in November. House Democrats had been targeting the district prior to Zinke's announcement...



https://www.politico.com/live-updates/2026/03/02/congress/montana-republican-ryan-zinke-retirement-00807306 

 

Back on the Hill, Ryan Zinke pushes odd line about ‘deep state’

As regular readers know, the Montana Republican's tenure as Donald Trump's interior secretary was almost cartoonishly provocative. Zinke came under at least 15 different investigations — not because a bunch of deep state rascals conspired against him, but because there was quite a bit of evidence of wrongdoing against him...

https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/back-hill-ryan-zinke-pushes-odd-line-deep-state-rcna65311

Federal investigation finds that former Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke misused position : NPR

…Investigators found that Zinke did not comply with his ethics obligations, in which he agreed not to manage services associated with the foundation. Investigators also found that he misused his authority to direct subordinates to help with the project. 

Zinke left his post at the Department of the Interior at end of 2018 after serving for two years amid mounting misconduct allegations. Now, the Republican is running to return to Congress, with an endorsement from Trump…

https://www.npr.org/2022/02/16/1081180054/ryan-zinke-interior-investigation-ig-report

Recording Reveals Oil Industry Execs Laughing at Trump Access - POLITICO

The tape of a private meeting was made shortly after the lawyer for an influential industry group was tapped for a high-level post at the Department of the Interior...
https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2019/03/23/trump-big-oil-industry-influence-investigation-zinke-226106

Interior Department Is Filled With Ex-Lobbyists Who Are Cozy with Their Former Employers, New Ethics Complaint Shows - The Intercept

"The Interior Department's culture of corruption under President Trump didn't start or end with Ryan Zinke." ...
https://theintercept.com/2019/02/20/interior-department-ethics-violations/

Former Trump Officials Are Supposed to Avoid Lobbying. Except 33 Haven’t - ProPublica

The former officials — including ex-Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke — have found ways to sidestep the administration's ethics pledge. At least 18 of them are now registered federal lobbyists and the rest work in jobs that closely resemble lobbying. ....
https://www.propublica.org/article/the-lobbying-swamp-is-flourishing-in-trumps-washington

Zinke told police a Post reporter caused a fracas at his house. Here’s what really happened - The Washington Post.

In fact, there was no reporter. Two of Ryan Zinke's neighbors had confronted the driver of a large black SUV that was idling outside the house and taking up more than one parking space. ....
https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2019/02/01/zinke-told-police-post-reporter-caused-fracas-his-house-heres-what-really-happened/

These Two Letters Explain Why Democrats Were Furious With Ryan Zinke This Week - Mother Jones

Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke has not attempted to acquire a Chik-fil-A franchise for his wife, asked personal aides to buy a used mattress, or spent $1,560 on 12 fancy pens as has EPA administrator Scott Pruitt, who is the subject of 12 separate investigations. But Democrats have not ignored some questionable behavior in Zinke's agency and described some of their concerns in a recent pair of open letters. ...
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2018/06/these-two-letters-explain-why-democrats-were-furious-with-ryan-zinke-this-week/

Yellowstone’s top official, facing reassignment under Trump, is denied option to retire on his terms - The Washington Post

Yellowstone Superintendent Daniel Wenk hoped to have more time for a bison project and other wildlife work. ....
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2018/06/07/yellowstones-top-official-facing-reassignment-under-trump-is-denied-option-to-retire-on-his-terms/....

Navajo Didn't Support Shrinking Bears Ears - FactCheck.org

Department of Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke claimed the Navajo people who "live close" to Bears Ears National Monument "were all in support" of President Donald Trump's decision to shrink the protected land. But tribe representatives told us that's false. In fact, the Navajo Nation and other indigenous tribes have sued the federal government over the president's decision. ....
https://www.factcheck.org/2018/06/navajo-didnt-support-shrinking-bears-ears/

Scott Pruitt’s staffer reportedly had a genius plan to help his boss: smear Ryan Zinke - Vox

The White House found out, and wasn't pleased. ....
https://www.vox.com/2018/5/3/17316490/epa-scott-pruitt-staffer-zinke-interiors

The worst Cabinet ever gets worse - The Washington Post

Former New Jersey governor Chris Christie (R), who has mostly acted as a sycophantic spinner on President Trump’s behalf in his stint as an ABC contributor, was more blunt Sunday on “This Week”: “He was ill-served right from the beginning by a group of people who threw all the transition work out, 35, 8-inch binders of vetting of over 350 people, that were consistent with his views, that they got rid of, literally threw in the garbage two or three days after the election, started over,” Christie said.....

https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/right-turn/wp/2018/04/02/the-worst-cabinet-ever-gets-worse/

Democrats warn against cut to offshore oil royalties -- Business Insider

Top Democrats on the Senate and House natural resources committees urged the Interior Department on Tuesday to drop a proposed cut to offshore oil and gas royalties, warning such a reduction would shortchange U.S. taxpayers. ....
http://www.businessinsider.com/r-democrats-warn-against-cut-to-offshore-oil-royalties-2018-2

Leaked Documents Reveal the Trump Administration's Plan to Sell off Our Public Lands -- Mother Jones

President Donald Trump and Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke have repeatedly said they oppose selling off federal lands. ....
https://www.motherjones.com/environment/2018/01/leaked-documents-reveal-the-trump-administrations-plan-to-sell-off-our-public-lands/

Sale of Arctic oil leases goes bust -- Salon

The federal oil-lease sale promoted as the largest ever in Alaska's Arctic Reserve sold only seven tracts, or 0.8% of the 900 tracts offered, undercutting Republican arguments that they can help pay for their proposed $1.5 trillion tax cuts for the wealthy by selling oil leases in the Alaskan wilderness. ....
https://www.salon.com/2017/12/09/sale-of-arctic-oil-leases-goes-bust_partner/

FEC probes discrepancies at former Zinke PAC -- POLITICO

The FEC also asks about incomplete information related to some donors, excess contributions and potentially misclassified spending. ....
https://www.politico.com/story/2017/11/21/fec-ryan-zinke-seal-pac-123477?cid=apn

Zinke campaign's RV sale to friend broke campaign law -- ABC News

A watchdog organization has accused the dormant congressional campaign of U.S. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke of skirting contribution laws when it sold a motor home to a friend of Zinke at a steep discount ....
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/group-zinke-campaigns-rv-sale-friend-broke-campaign-50818756

$300M Puerto Rico Contract Awarded To Tiny Firm Financed By Big Trump Donors – Talking Points Memo

A tiny Montana utility company that received a $300 million contract to help restore power to Puerto Rico after its electrical grid was devastated by Hurricane Maria is financed by major Trump donors and run by a CEO friendly with Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, a series of recent reports has revealed....
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/whitefish-puerto-rico-utility-contract

Watchdog group requests Hatch Act probe of Zinke's appearance at Virgin Islands -- POLITICO

The nonprofit Campaign Legal Center says that activity may have run afoul of the federal law. ....
http://www.politico.com/story/2017/10/06/ryan-zinke-fundraiser-hatch-act-watchdog-243554?cid=apn

Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke wants to return national monuments to 'traditional' mining and logging

The Washington Post has obtained a copy of a report from Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke suggesting that millions of acres of public land be given away while millions more should be open to mining and logging....
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/1699568