Trump’s Interior Secretary to quit amid investigations
INTERIOR Secretary Ryan Zinke – who is facing federal investigations into his travel, political activity and potential conflicts of interest – will leave the 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 post requires Senate confirmation.
Mr Zinke is leaving weeks before Democrats take control of the House, a shift in power that promises to intensify probes into his conduct.
His departure comes amid a staff shake-up as President Trump heads into his third year in office.
On Friday, the President named White House budget director Mick Mulvaney as his next chief of staff.
Mr Zinke, 57, played a leading part in President Trump’s efforts to roll back environmental regulations and promote domestic energy development.
When he was recently travelling to survey the damage from California’s wildfires, Mr Zinke echoed President Trump’s claims that lax forest management was to blame for the devastation.
He pushed to develop oil, natural gas and coal beneath public lands, in line with the administration’s business-friendly aims.
But Mr Zinke has been dogged by ethics probes, including one centred on a Montana land deal involving a foundation he created and the chairman of an energy services company that does business with the Interior Department.
Investigators are also reviewing Mr Zinke’s decision to block two tribes from opening a casino in Connecticut and his redrawing of boundaries to shrink a Utah national monument. He has denied any wrongdoing.
Last month an internal watchdog referred an investigation of Mr Zinke to the Justice Department.
President Trump responded by saying he was evaluating Mr Zinke’s future in the administration.
Asked by reporters last month whether he might fire Mr Zinke, President Trump said: “No, I’m going to look into any complaints.”
Mr Zinke had a memorable his first day in post when he rode a horse into work in March 2017.