"We Can Expect More Of The Same From Act. Sec. Bernhardt, But w/o Laughable Roosevelt Comparisons"
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Several advocacy groups welcomed his departure, even as they pivoted to attack Deputy Interior Secretary David Bernhardt, who will take over in the interim. Bernhardt, a skilled policy expert who has steered most of the department’s key policy decisions since joining in August 2017, is one of several Western Republicans who might be considered for the job.
“Ryan Zinke will go down as the most anti-conservation Interior secretary in our nation’s history,” Jennifer Rokala, executive director of the Center for Western Priorities, said in a statement. “Surrounding himself with former lobbyists, it quickly became clear that Ryan Zinke was a pawn for the oil and gas industry. We can expect more of the same from Acting Secretary David Bernhardt, but without the laughable Teddy Roosevelt comparisons.” Zinke had styled himself as a Teddy Roosevelt Republican, showcasing his love of hunting, fishing and riding in the Montana wilderness.
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The secretary’s final public appearance was Thursday night at his office Christmas party, which he told White House staffers he wanted to have before his dismissal. He invited lobbyists and conservative activists to his executive suite, where he posed for photos in front of a large stuffed polar bear wearing a Santa cap, according to an attendee. Mounted animals on the walls were fitted with ornaments.
“He still has big-time political ambitions,” said one Republican with close ties to Zinke, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to comment frankly. The jockeying to replace Zinke as secretary has already begun, according to Republicans who have been engaged in discussions with the administration. In addition to Bernhardt, the GOP candidates include outgoing Sen. Dean Heller (Nev.), Reps. Raúl R. Labrador (Idaho), Jeff Denham (Calif.), Cathy McMorris Rogers (Wash.), and Rob Bishop (Utah), who next month will relinquish his chairmanship of the House Natural Resources Committee.
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https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/interior-secretary-zinke-resigns-amid-investigations/2018/12/15/481f9104-0077-11e9-ad40-cdfd0e0dd65a_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.54a9bc38302d