Ryan Zinke served as U.S. Secretary of the Department of the Interior from 2017 until he was forced to resign after a series of ethical scandals in December 2018 revealed him to be not just an interior secretary but an inferior secretary.
The Washington Post reported that Zinke had been told if he didn’t resign, he would be fired.
NPR said that Zinke’s almost-two-year term as Interior secretary was “marred by mounting ethics inquiries into his travel and personal financial dealings.”
This included, among other things, a land deal in Zinke’s hometown in Montana that involved an organization run by Zinke’s wife, Lolita, and the chairman of Haliburton, a leading oil and gas corporation.
The acting inspector general at the Interior Department investigated Zinke’s personal involvement and whether any taxpayer resources were used in what was perceived as conflict of interest.
https://www.npr.org/2018/12/15/663597698/ryan-zinke-is-leaving-the-interior-department
There were 15 investigations involving Zinke including the aforementioned real estate deal; whether he manipulated government rules so his wife could ride in government vehicles; and whether he allowed a security detail to accompany him at considerable taxpayer expense on a vacation to Turkey, the Washington Post reported.
Politico revealed that many in the Trump Administration, including Zinke, were traveling on private or military aircraft. Zinke, the article said, had secured a charter plane to take him to his home in Montana and to a vacation in the Caribbean.
Zinke dismissed the story as “B.S.”
Zinke’s last official appearance came at a Christmas party in his office, where invited lobbyists and conservative activists came to his executive suite, where, the Washington Post reported, “he posed for photos in front of a large stuffed polar bear wearing a Santa cap.”
Zinke asked Trump to overturn an Obama Administration policy and lift an import ban on elephant and other big-game trophies from Zimbabwe and Zaire.
Trump initially decided to delay his decision until, according to one source, he had time to think about it.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ryan_Zinke
Trump, who had little practice thinking before making decisions, allowed for the import of elephant trophies.
Zinke was the fourth cabinet member to resign in less than two years under what the Washington Post called “an ethics cloud.”
The other three were Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price, Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin, and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt. All were investigated about how they spent taxpayer money.
Zinke got his start in politics by promoting baseless conspiracy theories as a talk radio host in Montana where he promoted “birtherism.” He repeatedly called on Obama to release his birth certificate and then continued to question whether Obama was born in the United States after Obama released his birth certificate.
He also linked Michelle Obama to the terrorist attack at the Boston marathon in 2013.
Really.
In addition, Zinke repeated then-presidential candidate Donald Trump’s bogus claim that his opponent Ted Cruz was a Canadian citizen and therefore not eligible to run for president.
https://edition.cnn.com/2018/04/16/politics/kfile-ryan-zinke-radio-birther/index.html
Zinke was first elected to Congress in 2014. After leaving the White House, Zinke ran for — and won — election to Congress.
