Beleaguered Zinke to quit US post

INTERIOR Secretary Ryan Zinke – who is facing federal investigations into his travel, political activity and potential conflicts of interest – will leave the White House administration at the end of the year, US President Donald Trump said.

President Trump, in tweeting Mr Zinke’s departure, said the former Montana congressman “accomplished much during his tenure” and that a replacement would be announced next week.

The Cabinet post requires Senate confirmation.

Mr Zinke is leaving weeks before Democrats take control of the House, a shift in power that promised to intensify conduct probes.

His departure comes amid a staff shake-up as President Trump heads into his third year in office.

The president on Friday named White House budget director Mick Mulvaney as his next chief of staff.

Mr Zinke, 57, played a key part in President Trump’s efforts to roll back environmental rules and push domestic energy development.

He pushed to develop oil, natural gas and coal beneath public lands in line with the administration’s business-friendly aims despite devastating recent forest fires.

But Mr Zinke has been dogged by ethics probes, including one centred on a Montana land deal involving a foundation he created.

Investigators are also reviewing his decision to block two tribes from opening a casino and his redrawing of boundaries to shrink a Utah national monument.

Mr Zinke has denied any wrongdoing.