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Ryan Zinke
Former Secretary of the Interior
Public Lands Selloff Architect with Ethics Violations
Overview
Ryan Zinke served as Interior Secretary from 2017 to 2019, expanding oil, gas, and mining access on public lands while accumulating ethics violations including a real estate deal with Halliburton, use of a flag ceremony to signal his presence in the building, and directing staff to plan personal travel on taxpayer time. He resigned before multiple investigations concluded.
Key Affiliations
Controversies & Concerns
Negotiated a real estate deal with Halliburton chairman in Whitefish, Montana while Halliburton had business before Interior Department
DOI Inspector General referred him for criminal investigation over the Halliburton land deal; DOJ declined to prosecute
Chartered military aircraft for personal travel between events at a cost of over $12,000 each trip
Created and then canceled a massive reduction in Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments totaling 2 million acres
Proposed opening virtually all federal waters to offshore drilling, then exempted Florida after political pressure from Governor Rick Scott
Used a personal email address for official business in violation of federal records laws
Flew personal flags over the Interior headquarters building to signal his presence; used ceremonial protocol for personal optics
Related Investigations (6)
Animal Cruelty & Wildlife DestructionAnimal Welfare
Tier 2
highCabinet Ethics ScandalsEthics Violations
Tier 4
highClimate SabotageMilitary & Foreign Policy
Tier 2
criticalTrump Administration Corruption: The Grift That GovernedPolitical Corruption
Tier 3
highTrump First Administration: Four Years of Constitutional CrisisPolitical Corruption
Tier 3
criticalTrump Personal Corruption: Decades of Fraud, Tax Evasion, and Self-DealingFinancial Crime
Tier 3
criticalKnown Associates & Connections
Donald Trump
President who appointed Zinke; called him to say he was doing a "fantastic job" days before resignation
David Bernhardt
Deputy and successor who was a former oil and gas lobbyist and continued deregulatory agenda
Sources & Documentation
3 documented sources from official records, investigations, and reports
DOI OIG: Investigation of Secretary Zinke Land Deal(2018)
Washington Post: Zinke Halliburton Real Estate Deal(2018)
GAO: Report on Zinke Travel Expenditures(2019)
Personal Information
- Born
- 1961-11-01
- Birthplace
- Bozeman, Montana
- Also Known As
- Commander Zinke (self-styled reference to Navy SEAL service)
Education
- •B.S., University of Oregon (1984)
- •M.B.A., National University (1991)
- •M.S., University of San Diego (2003)
Key Timeline
2017-03
Confirmed as Secretary of the Interior
2017-04
Signed order to review all national monument designations since 1996
2017-12
Reduced Bears Ears by 85% and Grand Staircase-Escalante by nearly 50%
2018-01
Proposed opening virtually all federal waters to offshore drilling
2018
Multiple OIG investigations opened into travel, land deals, and conflicts of interest
2018-12
Resigned under pressure before investigations concluded
2022
Elected to Congress representing Montanas new 1st district