Interior Department Secretary Ryan Zinke submitted his resignation to the White House on Saturday, facing intense pressure from the White House amid multiple probes tied to his real estate dealings in Montana and conduct while in office.
President Donald Trump announced Zinke’s exit via twitter Saturday morning, and offered praise for the embattled Interior chief.
“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,” the president tweeted, trailing off in a second sentence. “Ryan has accomplished much during his tenure and I want to thank him for his service to our Nation…….”
Behind the scenes, however, the White House had been pushing Zinke to resign for weeks, administration officials said. Last month, these officials said, Zinke was told he had until the end of the year to exit or be fired.
Zinke – the first Montanan to serve in a presidential Cabinet – is the fourth Trump Cabinet member to resign under an ethics cloud in less than two years. Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price, Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt also relinquished their posts after coming under scrutiny for how they spent taxpayer dollars on their travel, among other allegations.
For Zinke the key moment in his loss of support at the White House came in October when Interior’s inspector general referred one of its inquiries to the Justice Department, according to two senior administration officials who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive matter.
That probe, which is still ongoing, is examining whether a land deal Zinke struck with the chairman of the oil services giant Halliburton in his hometown of Whitefish, Montana, constituted a conflict of interest.
As the leading advocate for Trump’s push to expand domestic energy production, the former Navy SEAL and Montana congressman became a lightning rod for controversy. He was hailed by energy industry officials for relaxing Obama-era environmental rules and opening up wide swaths of federal land and federal waters for drilling. But environmental groups assailed his policies and conducted opposition research into his management practices and financial dealings.
The jockeying has already begun to replace Zinke as secretary
In addition to Bernhardt, outgoing Sen. Dean Heller, R-Nev., is a possible contender, according to Republicans who have been engaged in discussions with the administration in recent weeks. House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Rob Bishop, R-Utah, who will relinquish his gavel next month, is another candidate.
Zinke’s resignation, which comes after Trump has replaced his attorney general and chief of staff, could be followed soon by other Cabinet departures. Both the positions of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross remain precarious, according to White House officials.
(c) 2018, The Washington Post · Juliet Eilperin, Josh Dawsey, Darryl Fears
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