WASHINGTON (AP) \u2014 Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, facing federal investigations into his travel, political activity and potential conflicts of interest, will be leaving the administration at year’s end, President Donald Trump said Saturday. In his resignation letter, obtained by The Associated Press, Zinke said „vicious and politically motivated attacks“ against him had „created an unfortunate distraction“ in fulfilling the agency’s mission.<\/b>
\nBy ELLEN KNICKMEYER, MATTHEW BROWN and JONATHAN LEMIRE
WASHINGTON (AP) \u2014 Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, facing federal investigations into his travel, political activity and potential conflicts of interest, will be leaving the administration at year\u2019s end, President Donald Trump said Saturday. In his resignation letter, obtained by The Associated Press, Zinke said \u201cvicious and politically motivated attacks\u201d against him had \u201ccreated an unfortunate distraction\u201d in fulfilling the agency\u2019s mission.
Trump, in tweeting Zinke\u2019s departure, said the former Montana congressman \u201caccomplished much during his tenure\u201d and that a replacement would be announced next week. The Cabinet post requires Senate confirmation.
Zinke is leaving weeks before Democrats take control of the House, a shift in power that promises to sharpen the probes into his conduct. His departure comes amid a staff shake-up as Trump heads into his third year in office facing increased legal exposure due to intensifying investigations into his campaign, business, foundation and administration.
Zinke\u2019s resignation letter, obtained from a Zinke aide on Saturday, cites what he calls \u201cmeritless and false claims\u201d and says that \u201cto some, truth no longer matters.\u201d
The letter, dated Saturday, said Zinke\u2019s last day would be Jan. 2. It was not clear whether Zinke had already submitted the letter when Trump tweeted.
Zinke, 57, played a leading part in Trump\u2019s efforts to roll back federal environmental regulations and promote domestic energy development. He drew attention from his first day on the job, when he mounted a roan gelding to ride across Washington\u2019s National Mall to the Department of Interior.
Zinke had remained an ardent promoter of both missions, and his own macho image, despite growing talk that he had lost Trump\u2019s favor. On Tuesday, Zinke appeared on stage at an Environmental Protection Agency ceremony for a rollback on water regulations. Mentioning his background as a Navy SEAL at least twice, he led the audience in a round of applause for the U. S. oil and gas industry.
Trump never established a deep personal connection with Zinke but appreciated how he stood tall against criticisms from environmental groups as he worked to roll back protections. But the White House concluded in recent weeks that Zinke was likely the Cabinet member most vulnerable to investigations led by newly empowered Democrats in Congress, according to an administration official not authorized to publicly discuss personnel matters who spoke on condition of anonymity.
His tenure was temporarily extended as Interior helped with the response to California wildfires and the West Wing was consumed with speculation over the future of chief of staff John Kelly. But White House officials pressured him to resign, the official said, which he did after his final public appearance at his department\u2019s Christmas party on Thursday night.
As interior secretary, Zinke pushed to develop oil, natural gas and coal beneath public lands in line with the administration\u2019s business-friendly aims. But he has been dogged by ethics probes, including one centered on a Montana land deal involving a foundation he created and the chairman of an energy services company, Halliburton, that does business with the Interior Department.
Investigators also are reviewing Zinke\u2019s decision to block two tribes from opening a casino in Connecticut and his redrawing of boundaries to shrink a Utah national monument. Zinke has denied wrongdoing.
The Associated Press reported last month that the department\u2019s internal watchdog had referred an investigation of Zinke to the Justice Department.
Zinke\u2019s travels with his wife, Lola Zinke, also had come under scrutiny.
Interior\u2019s inspector general\u2019s office said Zinke allowed his wife to ride in government vehicles with him despite a department policy that prohibits nongovernment officials from doing so. The report also said the department spent more than $25,000 to provide security for the couple when they took a vacation to Turkey and Greece.
Trump told reporters this fall he was evaluating Zinke\u2019s future in the administration in light of the allegations and offered a lukewarm vote of confidence. Zinke in November denied he already was hunting for his next job.
\u201cI enjoy working for the president,\u201d he told a Montana radio station. \u201cNow, If you do your job, he supports you.\u201d
\u201cI think I\u2019m probably going to be the commander of space command,\u201d Zinke said. \u201cHow\u2019s that one?\u201d
Zinke outlasted EPA chief Scott Pruitt, another enthusiastic advocate of Trump\u2019s business-friendly way of governing who lost favor with Trump amid ethics scandals. Pruitt resigned in July. Trump\u2019s first Health and Human Services secretary, Tom Price, also resigned under a cloud of ethical questions.
Democratic leaders in Congress were scathing in response to the news that Zinke was leaving as well.
\u201cRyan Zinke was one of the most toxic members of the cabinet in the way he treated our environment, our precious public lands, and the way he treated the govt like it was his personal honey pot,\u201d Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of the New York tweeted Saturday. \u201cThe swamp cabinet will be a little less foul without him.\u201d
House Minority Leader Rep. Nancy Pelosi, who is set to become speaker in January, said Zinke had \u201cbeen a shameless handmaiden for the special interests\u201d and his \u201cstaggering ethical abuses have delivered a serious and lasting blow to America\u2019s public lands, environment, clean air and clean water.\u201d
Arizona Rep. Raul Grijalva, the top Democrat on the House Natural Resources Committee, had warned that after Democrats took control of the House they intended to call Zinke to testify on his ethics issues.
Grijalva spokesman Adam Sarvana said Saturday that committee leaders still intended to ask for Zinke\u2019s testimony. \u201cIt\u2019s safe to say that Citizen Zinke may be leaving, but real oversight of former Secretary Zinke has not even started,\u201d Sarvana said in an email.
Earlier this month, Zinke unleashed a jarring personal attack on Grijalva, tweeting, \u201cIt\u2019s hard for him to think straight from the bottom of the bottle.\u201d
Zinke got a warmer send-off from Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, head of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, who said in a statement that he had been a \u201cstrong partner for Western states.\u201d
Under Zinke\u2019s watch, the Interior Department moved to auction off more oil leases, ended a moratorium on new sales of federally owned coal, and repealed mandates governing drilling. Zinke\u2019s focus on the president\u2019s energy agenda was cheered by oil, gas and mining advocates, who credit the administration with seeking to balance conservation with development on public lands. But his tenure was denounced by most conservation groups.
\u201cZinke will go down as the worst Interior secretary in history,\u201d said Kieran Suckling, executive director of the Center for Biological Diversity, in a statement released Saturday. \u201cHis slash-and-burn approach was absolutely destructive for public lands and wildlife. Allowing David Bernhardt to continue to call the shots will still be just as ugly. Different people, same appetite for greed and profit.\u201d
Bernhardt, the deputy secretary, is in line to lead the Interior Department on an interim basis. He has spent years in Washington as a lobbyist for the oil and gas industry and has deep ties to Republican politicians and conservative interest groups.
Two outgoing Republican congressmen are said to be interested in the job.
Rep. Raul Labrador of Idaho planned to go to the White House on Saturday to discuss the job with officials, said a GOP congressional aide who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe Labrador\u2019s private plans. Labrador, 51, a member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, who is retiring from Congress after eight years. He lost a bid for his state\u2019s GOP gubernatorial nomination last spring.
Rep. Jeff Denham, R-Calif., is also interested in Zinke\u2019s job, according to another Republican congressional aide who described the situation only on condition of anonymity. The aide said the White House has made inquiries about Denham to Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., who will be House minority leader next year. Denham, 51, has been involved in water issues in California. He lost his bid for re-election last month.
As head of Interior, Zinke made plans to realign the agency\u2019s bureaucracy, trimming the equivalent of 4,600 jobs, about 7 percent of its workforce. He also proposed a massive overhaul that would have moved decision-making out of Washington, relocating headquarters staff to Western states at a cost of $17.5 million.
Zinke was a one-term congressman when Trump selected him to join his incoming Cabinet in December 2016.
An early Trump supporter, Zinke is close to the president\u2019s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., and publicly expressed his interest in a Cabinet post when Trump visited Montana in May 2016.
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Brown reported from Red Lodge, Montana. Associated Press writers Matthew Daly and Alan Fram in Washington contributed to this report.<\/p>\n