Ex-Navy Seal tapped to lead Interior Department

BILLINGS, Mont.—Rep. Ryan Zinke of Montana made no secret of his ambitions to join a Donald Trump Cabinet, and yet his nomination as interior secretary is in some ways an unlikely fit for the retired US Navy SEAL.

Zinke, 55, was an early supporter of the President-elect and publicly expressed his interest in a Cabinet post when Trump visited Montana in May.

The Interior Department and other US agencies control almost a third of Montana and even more of the underground “mineral estate” that holds vast amounts of coal, oil and natural gas.

As with several other Trump Cabinet nominees, Zinke has advocated for increased energy drilling and mining on those lands and expressed skepticism about the urgency of climate change.

Vocal supporter

The Republican lawmaker, who describes himself as a “Teddy Roosevelt Republican,” also has been a vocal supporter of keeping public lands in the government’s hands.

That’s a central political issue in Montana, where hunting and fishing access is considered sacrosanct.

The President-elect’s son Donald Jr. is an avid hunter and was in Montana on a hunting trip last month, during which Sen. Steve Daines recommended Zinke for Interior.

That and Zinke’s stance on public lands may have given him an advantage over another lawmaker Trump was said to have considered for the post, Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers.

Zinke was offered the job after meeting Monday with Trump in New York, according to two people with knowledge of the matter.

Zinke had not yet announced on Wednesday whether he would accept.