Trump taps Zinke for Interior; GOP lauds representative's experience

President-elect Donald Trump offered Montana Rep. Ryan Zinke the job of Interior secretary on Tuesday, though it’s unclear whether the congressman has accepted.

That’s according to two people with knowledge of the offer.

Zinke, 55, a retired Navy SEAL, was an early supporter of Trump and met with the president-elect Monday. He’s been mentioned as a possible challenger to Montana’s Democratic Sen. Jon Tester in 2018.

Trump also was said to be considering Washington Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers for the job. She wrote on Facebook on Tuesday that it was an “honor” to be invited to meet with Trump.

The people with knowledge of the offer to Zinke insisted on anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the transition process publicly.

The Republican lawmaker visited Trump Tower in New York on Monday, where he said he discussed national security, sportsmen’s rights and other topics during a closed-door meeting with Trump.

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Spokeswoman Heather Swift said Monday the two talked for about a half-hour and had a wide-ranging discussion. She says American Indian affairs, land use and land ownership also came up.

Zinke, who serves on House Natural Resources and Armed Services committees, describes himself as “a steadfast advocate for Montana veterans and military personnel and families.” He advocates greater use of public lands for energy production such as oil and natural gas.

Zinke has prioritized development of oil, gas and other resources on public lands and has advocated for state control of energy development on federal lands, a stance that some environmental groups say threatens national parks. Zinke has voted against efforts to designate new national parks that would diversify the National Park system.

The Interior department manages the nation’s public lands and minerals and is the steward of 20 percent of the nation’s lands, including national parks, national wildlife refuges and other public lands. The department also supplies and manages water in 17 Western states and upholds federal trust responsibilities to 566 federally recognized Indian tribes and Alaska Natives.

Fellow Montana Republican U.S. Sen. Steve Daines heralded the prospect.

“Ryan Zinke protected us abroad and in combat and I know he will do the same for our treasured public lands as Secretary of the Interior,” Daines stated. “In Congress, I’ve seen Ryan stand up and fight to protect our way of life. As a westerner, Ryan understands the challenges of having the federal government as your largest neighbor and I couldn’t think of a better fit for Secretary of the Interior.”

Zinke was an early supporter of Trump, which likely helped his candidacy for the cabinet post, said Jeremy Johnson, associate professor of political science at Carroll College.

On Nov. 8, he won a second term by defeating Democrat Denise Juneau and Libertarian Rick Breckenridge. He recently wrote a book, “American Commander,” about his experiences as a U.S. Navy SEAL. Scott McEwen co-authored the book.

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Jeff Essmann, head of the Montana Republican Party, said if the rumors are true and if Zinke has accepted, he is excited about the prospect of Zinke going to work for a Trump administration.

He said Trump has stressed a priority of bringing better jobs back to the country and to use natural resources to achieve that goal. He added the federal government owns and operates a lot of property in Montana.

Essmann said Zinke would go to work “on behalf of Montana and all other people in this country and go to making America great again.”

Montana Gov. Steve Bullock said in a statement, "Montanans know how important the U.S. Department of Interior is to protecting our natural resources and outdoor heritage and it is reassuring that a Western voice is being advanced for a post that is critical for Western states. As Governor and Chair of the Western Governors Association, I look forward to ensuring that our states' interests are reflected in Washington, D.C. - from our public lands to national parks and natural resource development, among other areas.​"

Brian Sybert, Montana Wilderness Association’s executive director, said his organization would expect Zinke to “carry Montana’s values into that role.”

“That means protecting access to public lands, ensuring our forests and prairies are indeed managed for multiple use and not just resource extraction, and respecting that wild places and public lands are core American values that he’ll need to protect for all citizens.” he said.

Sybert said Zinke had a “checkered record when it comes to public lands,” including a vote for developing wilderness areas but has taken some good votes against lands transfer and for the Land and Water Conservation Fund, an important issue for sportsmen groups.

“Rep. Zinke has called himself a Roosevelt conservationist, and we will hold him to everything that definition entails,” Sybert said.

Alan Olson, executive director of the Montana Petroleum Association, said he served with Zinke in the state Senate and is looking forward to working with him in his new role.

Olson said it will be a refreshing break from recent years.

“Currently, you can permit an oil well on state or private ground in Montana in 10 to 30 days,” Olson said. “We’re looking at as long as two years to get a permit on federal ground. The Solonex leases up in the Badger-Two Medicine (which were just canceled under the Obama administration), those leases were issued in 1982 and the wells have actually been permitted three times. To unilaterally come in and cancel a contract like that is unbelievable. There definitely needs to be a different temperament there.”

Harry Barnes, the chairman of the Blackfeet Tribal Business Council, whose tribe worked hard to protect the Badger-Two Medicine from drilling in what it considers sacred land, also was thrilled with Tuesday’s news.

“This is a great day for Montana with the selection of Representative Ryan Zinke as Secretary of the Interior,” Barnes said. “Representative Zinke has worked steadfast on the Blackfeet Water Compact, which after over 30 years, was finally passed through Congress (over this past weekend), and we now await President Obama’s signature. The Blackfeet and other Montana tribes will have an ear in the Department of Interior, which oversees the Bureau of Indian Affairs and has direct effect on the tribes. We have worked with outgoing Secretary (Sally) Jewell and look forward to having the same great working relationship with Secretary-designate Zinke.”

The news wasn’t welcome everywhere in Montana.

“(Zinke) fits Trump’s model of hiring people who are unqualified to do a job that is really important,” said Ann Hedges, deputy director of the Montana Environmental Information Center. “What I would expect (from Zinke) is to extract at any cost and to ignore environmental protections in order to further his political ambitions. Former state Senator Zinke started out as somebody we could work with, who was fairly open-minded about a whole host of conservation issues, including climate change. Halfway through his first session, he tanked, and he’s been tanking ever since.”

The Montana Stockgrowers Association, though, was excited about Zinke’s nomination.

“With regard to the Department of the Interior, we’re always very focused on grazing issues with the Bureau of Land Management,” said Errol Rice, executive vice president group. “The sage grouse is obviously a big issue in the state of Montana that we’re spending a lot of time on, and bison as well with the proliferation of brucellosis in southwest Montana. There are no shortage of issues that fall under the Interior umbrella that we would be eager to roll up our sleeves and go to work on with Congressman Zinke.”

Jeremy Nichols of the environmental group WildEarth Guardians said in a statement the news “heightens our fears over the Interior Secretary bringing an unbelievably extreme philosophy of handing over our public lands to the fossil fuel industry for their own gain. ... Coupled with his denial of climate change, we remain extremely concerned that Zinke, as the Interior Secretary nominee, is still poised to undermine American ideals of public lands, responsible energy development, clean air and water, and a safe climate.”

Zinke has raised doubts about climate change as “unsettled science.” Yet he’s also said in interviews that “something’s going on” with the climate and promoted an energy strategy that includes renewable sources such as wind and solar would be prudent.

Zinke, a former state senator who lives in Whitefish, ran unsuccessfully as lieutenant governor with gubernatorial candidate Neil Livingstone in 2012.

Zinke attended Trump’s May 26 campaign rally in Billings in front of 7,500 people at the Rimrock Auto Arena at MetraPark in Billings. Zinke told Fox News the day before he was endorsing Trump.

“The choice is clear,” Zinke tweeted later in the day. “Today I am endorsing and supporting Donald Trump for president of the United States of America.”

Breitbart News said at the time that Zinke said he was open to being Trump’s vice president or in any cabinet position if asked to serve, as well as from his current congressional seat.

“I know my name has been thrown around, and I would be honored to the duty in whatever capacity that is,” Zinke told Breibart.

Democrats criticized Zinke, saying his ambitions were beyond the Treasure State.

“Montanans are beginning to wonder if Ryan Zinke ever plans to focus on being our congressman. Clearly, the answer is no,” Juneau said.

At the May 26 rally, Zinke, one of the few high-ranking GOP elected officials at the event, told the crowd a vote for Trump would help the United States regain respect in the world.

“Our enemies no longer fear us and our allies no longer respect us,” he said. “We run the government and the government does not run the people.”

Zinke’s support of Trump remained steadfast, even when Montana veterans groups and women demanded he disavow the New York billionaire for comments he made that they said were anti-veteran and degraded women.

He also attracted attention in the 2014 campaign for calling Hillary Clinton “the antichrist” during the national debate about Benghazi, but he walked back that comment.

According to his website, RyanZinke.com, Zinke is a fifth-generation Montanan with family roots in Bozeman, Glasgow, Glendive, Whitefish and Richey. He said he learned the importance of hard work and character from his grandmother, a one-room schoolhouse teacher from Richey.

He said he developed an appreciation for Montana’s outdoor heritage growing up near Glacier National Park.

He was a multiple sport, all-state standout, a Whitefish High School Football Hall of Fame inductee, and 1979 Montana Boys State participant.

He attended the University of Oregon on an athletic scholarship, played four years for the Oregon Ducks football team, and graduated with a bachelor’s of science degree in geology. He also has a master’s degree in business finance and a masters in global leadership from the University of San Diego.

In 1985 he graduated from Officer Candidate School and attended SEAL training. He was assigned to SEAL Team One in Coronado, Calif., then was later selected for SEAL Team Six where he was a team leader, ground force commander, task force commander and current operations officer in support of National Command Authority missions.

He was assigned as deputy and acting commander of Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force-Arabian Peninsula for Operation Iraqi Freedom, where he led a force of more than 3,500 Special Operations personnel in Iraq. In 2006, he was awarded two Bronze Stars for combat.

Zinke also served as the Special Operations Officer in Europe, and served as the SEAL Commander of Joint Task Force TWO in support of Special Operations missions in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia and Kosovo. Zinke’s final naval assignment was establishing the Naval Special Warfare Advanced Training Command where he served as “Dean” of the Naval Special Warfare graduate school.

He retired from active duty 2008 after serving 23 years as a U.S. Navy SEAL.

He and wife, Lolita have two boys, Wolfgang and Konrad, and a daughter, Jennifer, who is a former U.S. Navy diver and whose husband is a Navy SEAL. Zinkes also have two granddaughters.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.