Zinke was a rising star in Washington. Then he joined the Trump administration.

[Eugene]

Source: Washington Post

Zinke was a rising star in Washington. Then he joined the Trump administration.

By Darryl Fears, Juliet Eilperin and Josh Dawsey December 20 at 6:00 AM

A day after the Senate made Ryan Zinke the first Montanan to serve in a presidential Cabinet, the new Interior secretary put on a black cowboy hat, mounted a horse named Tonto and paraded across the Mall with a U.S. Park Police detail to the front doors of Interior’s downtown Washington headquarters.

At that moment last year, Zinke sat tall in the saddle. He was a one-term congressman who had blazed a political trail in his home state. His star was so bright that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) lobbied against his Cabinet appointment, thinking Zinke was almost a sure bet to defeat Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.), who was reelected this year. To some liberal conservationists, Zinke appeared to be a conservative who could bridge the partisan divide. The Senate confirmed him with 68 votes.

But Zinke was anything but bipartisan. His zeal in carrying out President Trump’s vision of “American energy dominance” by boosting coal and gas production on public lands angered Democrats who supported him, and his tendency to overstep the limits of his power at Interior worried Republicans and the president.

When he abruptly resigned 10 days before Christmas, Zinke was facing five active federal investigations. During his brief 21-month tenure, he racked up a total of 15 probes into his management and behavior. Now the political future of the ex-Navy SEAL who so quickly found national prominence isn’t so bright.

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Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/energy-environment/2018/12/20/zinke-was-rising-star-washington-then-he-joined-trump-administration/

[Eliot Rosewater]

1. HOw in gods name can someone who was a Seal become a putin puppet...amazing

[GemDigger]

2. Money and opportunity to make more money. nt

[Me.]

3. Being Part Of Individual 1's Admin Allowed Zinke To Show His True Character

No one made him cheat, steal or work against the best interests of the country. To put it simply he found himself in a permissive environment which allowed him to be him.