The churn in Washington, D.C. continues.
On the morning of Dec. 15, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke announced he will be stepping down from the position.
“It is a great honor to serve the American people as their Interior Secretary,” he wrote in a tweet posted mid-morning on Saturday.
“I love working for the president and am incredibly proud of all the good work we’ve accomplished together. However, after 30 years of public service, I cannot justify spending thousands of dollars defending myself and my family against false allegations. It is better for the president and Interior to focus on accomplishments rather than fictitious allegations.”
President Donald Trump, in a tweet posted almost five hours before Zinke’s in the early hours of Dec. 15, acknowledged the departure and praised Zinke’s accomplishments in the Interior.
[inline_image file=”c649bf91b41fd7c084d62413f7a8288c.jpg” caption=”A screen capture, taken Dec. 19, of Zinke’s resignation tweet.”]
“Ryan has accomplished much during his tenure and I want to thank him for his service to our nation.”
Trump also said that a new Interior secretary would be announced last week. This had not happened as of press time.
Investigations as “vicious attacks”
The Associated Press, which broke the story of Zinke’s departure, claimed to have received a copy of his Dec. 15-dated resignation letter. In it, Zinke reportedly said “vicious and politically motivated attacks” against him had “created an unfortunate distraction” to his ability to fulfill the agency’s mission.
Though the connection was not explicitly made, the referenced “attacks” and “meritless and false claims” of the resignation letter likely refer to the numerous ongoing federal investigations into allegations of his misuse of government resources, conflicts of interest, and other possible ethics violations.
These investigations have included several by the Interior Department’s own Office of the Inspector General. A pair of investigations into Zinke’s alleged misuse of government resources (i.e., use of personnel and their time, funds, and vehicles for non-department activities) that have been closed and reported on generally found minor infractions or that some of the allegations were unfounded.
However, there are roughly a dozen ongoing investigations into other allegations, including into a real estate deal in Montana. If the investigation finds Zinke had used funds or his position to influence the outcome for his or his family’s benefit, and the attorney general choses to bring charges, he could face fines and jail time.
Ongoing investigations will continue even after Zinke has left office.
The resignation letter reportedly puts Jan. 2, 2019 as Zinke’s last day in the role of secretary. Any nominee from Trump for this cabinet position must be confirmed by the Senate.
As of press time, the next highest administrator in the Department of the Interior after Zinke was Deputy Secretary David Bernhardt. This position puts Bernhardt in command of the department until an acting secretary is designated or a new secretary is confirmed. — WLJ
