Interior secretary latest highprofile Trump admin departure
WASHINGTON: Donald Trump said Saturday that his interior secretary will be leaving soon – the latest in a series of highprofile departures from an administration beset by turnover and alleged ethical failings.
Zinke’s exit will remove the distraction of the ethical issues that have dogged him – and that reportedly have annoyed Trump – but is unlikely to mark a shift away from the concerted environmental deregulation that took place during the secretary’s tenure at the Interior Department.
“Secretary of the Interior ‘ RyanZinke’ will be leaving the Administration at the end of the year after having served for a period of almost two years,” Trump wrote on Twitter, highlighting the fact that Zinke’s tenure was substantially longer than that of some other former top officials in the administration.
“Ryan has accomplished much during his tenure and I want to thank him for his service to our Nation,” the president said, adding that a replacement would be announced next week.
The interior secretary is responsible for overseeing conservation and mineral extraction on public land that, if stitched together, would be larger than Mexico.
Zinke tied his departure to the burden of ‘ false allegations’ against him.
“I cannot justify spending thousands of dollars defending myself and my family against false allegations. It is better for the President and Interior to focus on accomplishments rather than fictitious allegations,” he said in a statement on Twitter. — AFP