Ryan Zinke

Ryan Zinke
Member of the
U.S. House of Representatives
from Montana
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 3, 2023
Preceded byConstituency reestablished[a]
Constituency1st district
In office
January 3, 2015 – March 1, 2017
Preceded bySteve Daines
Succeeded byGreg Gianforte
ConstituencyAt-large district
52nd United States Secretary of the Interior
In office
March 1, 2017 – January 2, 2019
PresidentDonald Trump
DeputyDavid Bernhardt
Preceded bySally Jewell
Succeeded byDavid Bernhardt
Member of the Montana Senate
from the 2nd district
In office
January 3, 2009 – January 3, 2013
Preceded byDan Weinberg
Succeeded byDee L. Brown
Personal details
Born
Ryan Keith Zinke

(1961-11-01) November 1, 1961 (age 63)
Bozeman, Montana, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
Spouse
Lolita Hand
​
(m. 1992)​
Children3
EducationUniversity of Oregon (BS)
National University (MBA)
University of San Diego (MS)
Signature
WebsiteHouse website
Military service
Allegiance United States
Branch/service United States Navy
Years of service1986–2008
Rank Commander
UnitSEAL Team Six
SEAL Team One
NSWU-2
Naval Special Warfare Center
AwardsBronze Star (2)
Defense Meritorious Service Medal (2)
Meritorious Service Medal (4)
Joint Service Commendation Medal (2)
Army Commendation Medal
Ryan Zinke's voice
Zinke speaks on harassment within the U.S. Department of the Interior
Recorded December 14, 2017

Ryan Keith Zinke (/ˈzɪŋki/ ZING-kee; born November 1, 1961) is an American politician and businessman serving as the U.S. representative for Montana's 1st congressional district since 2023. A member of the Republican Party, Zinke served in the Montana Senate from 2009 to 2013 and as the U.S. representative for the at-large congressional district from 2015 to 2017.[1] He served as the United States secretary of the interior under president Donald Trump from 2017 until his resignation in 2019 following a series of ethical scandals.[2]

Zinke graduated from multiple colleges before he was a U.S. Navy SEAL from 1986 until 2008, retiring as a commander.[3] The first SEAL to be elected to the U.S. House of Representatives,[4] he formerly served as a member of the Natural Resources Committee and the Armed Services Committee.[5] As a member of Congress, Zinke supported the use of ground troops in the Middle East to combat ISIS, and opposed the Affordable Care Act, various environmental regulations, and the transfer of federal lands to individual states.

Zinke was appointed secretary of the interior by Trump. He was confirmed on March 1, 2017, becoming the first SEAL and the first Montanan since statehood to occupy a Cabinet position.[6][7]

As Secretary, Zinke opened some federal lands for oil, gas and mineral exploration and extraction.[8] His actions as interior secretary raised ethical questions and were investigated by the Interior Department's Office of Inspector General.[9][10] In October 2018, the Interior's inspector general referred the investigation to the Department of Justice.[11][12] On December 15, 2018, Trump announced that Zinke would leave his post as of January 2, 2019,[13][14] to be replaced by his deputy, David Bernhardt.[15] The Inspector General's report concluded that Zinke had repeatedly violated ethical rules and then lied to investigators.[16][17] His tenure as the interior secretary was plagued by scandals, including his insistence that special flagpoles be erected so that flags could be raised or lowered when he was in residence, spending over $200,000 of taxpayer money to do so.[18]


Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).

  1. ^ "Montana Legislature: Ryan Zinke". Archived from the original on June 12, 2018. Retrieved January 26, 2017.
  2. ^ Rott, Nathan (December 15, 2018). "Ryan Zinke is Leaving the Interior Department, Trump Tweets". NPR. Archived from the original on April 4, 2021. Retrieved December 15, 2018.
  3. ^ Angel, Kristi. "Certificate of release". The Billings Gazette. Archived from the original on June 12, 2018. Retrieved February 14, 2017.
  4. ^ "Donald Trump picks Montana Rep. Ryan Zinke for interior secretary". Archived from the original on October 13, 2017. Retrieved February 14, 2017.
  5. ^ "Zinke favors increasing 'uses,' boosting production of federal lands". Spokesman.com. Archived from the original on June 12, 2018. Retrieved February 14, 2017.
  6. ^ Steele, Jeanette. "Zinke marks 1st Navy SEAL for Cabinet slot". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Archived from the original on February 14, 2017. Retrieved February 14, 2017.
  7. ^ Killough, Ashley; Barrett, Ted (March 1, 2017). "Senate approves Trump's nominee for Interior". CNN. Archived from the original on March 2, 2017. Retrieved March 1, 2017.
  8. ^ Turkewitz, Julie (April 16, 2018). "Ryan Zinke Is Opening Up Public Lands. Just Not at Home". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on June 14, 2018. Retrieved April 17, 2018.
  9. ^ "Ryan Zinke's use of charter flights under investigation by interior department". TheGuardian.com. Associated Press. October 2, 2017. Archived from the original on April 14, 2019. Retrieved December 19, 2017.
  10. ^ Cite error: The named reference GreenGoldenKnights was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  11. ^ Eilperin, Juliet; Dawsey, Josh; Rein, Lisa (November 1, 2018). "White House concerned Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke violated federal rules". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on March 13, 2021. Retrieved April 5, 2021.
  12. ^ Lefebvre, Ben; Colman, Zack (October 30, 2018). "Zinke's heir apparent ready to step in". Politico. Archived from the original on November 8, 2020. Retrieved April 5, 2021.
  13. ^ Knickmeyer, Ellen; Brown, Matthew; Press, Jonathan Lemire | The Associated (December 15, 2018). "Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke resigning, cites "vicious" attacks". The Denver Post. Archived from the original on January 1, 2019. Retrieved January 7, 2019.
  14. ^ Cama, Timothy; Green, Miranda (December 15, 2018). "Interior chief Zinke to leave administration". The Hill. Washington, D.C. Archived from the original on December 15, 2018. Retrieved December 15, 2018.
  15. ^ Holden, Emily; Milman, Oliver (December 15, 2018). "Embattled interior secretary Ryan Zinke steps down after series of scandals". The Guardian. Archived from the original on July 28, 2019. Retrieved December 15, 2018.
  16. ^ "Ryan Zinke broke ethics rules while leading Trump's Interior Dept., watchdog finds". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Archived from the original on February 16, 2022. Retrieved February 16, 2022.
  17. ^ Rein, Lisa; Phillips, Anna (August 24, 2022). "Ex-interior secretary Zinke lied to investigators in casino case, watchdog finds". Washington Post. Archived from the original on August 25, 2022. Retrieved August 24, 2022.
  18. ^ "Interior looked at $200k estimate to fly secretary's flag". April 16, 2018. Archived from the original on November 10, 2022. Retrieved November 10, 2022.