Ex-Navy SEAL sworn in as head of Interior Dept.
WASHINGTON — Former Montana Rep. Ryan Zinke was sworn in Wednesday as interior secretary, assuming oversight of 400 million acres of public land, mostly in the West.
Vice President Mike Pence administered the oath of office hours after the Senate confirmed President Trump’s nomination of Zinke by a vote of 68-31. Several Democrats from Western states as well as those facing tough re-election campaigns next year, including Montana’s Jon Tester, Indiana’s Joe Donnelly and Joe Manchin of West Virginia, voted for Zinke, a Republican.
Zinke, giving up his House seat to join the administration, pledged to get to work immediately and said he knows he’ll “be held accountable to get things done.”
A former Navy SEAL, Zinke praised his new boss as a “great president and a commander in chief I will fight with.”
Zinke is the 16th of Trump’s 22 Cabinet and Cabinet-level nominees to win Senate approval. Ben Carson, Trump’s choice to lead the Department of Housing and Urban Development, cleared a Senate hurdle by a vote of 62-37. Carson’s confirmation is expected later this week.
Zinke, 55, resigned as a delegate to the Republican National Convention last year to protest the GOP’s position in favor of land transfers to state or private groups.
Still, his stance on public lands has come into question in recent weeks after he voted in favor of a House rule that would allow federal land transfers to be considered cost-free and budget-neutral, making it easier for drilling and development.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said Zinke running the Interior Department should “concern every lover of our great and grand national parks.”
Countering Schumer, Montana Republican Sen. Steve Daines said Zinke “will be a strong advocate for our public lands.”
A special election will be held May 25 to replace Zinke in Montana’s only House seat, Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock said.