- Joined
- Apr 18, 2013
- Messages
- 85,431
- Reaction score
- 70,716
- Location
- Barsoom
- Gender
- Male
- Political Leaning
- Independent
Ryan Zinke Is Out As Interior Department Secretary
Ryan Zinke
Another corrupt corporatist leaves the corrupt Trump administration. Good riddance to bad rubbish. His replacement, David Bernhardt, is no better.
The American environment - land / air / water - will continue to degrade under Trump and his fossil-fuel-industry-lobbyist Interior Secretaries.
Remember Trumps four year war against the environment come November 2020.
Related: Interior Secretary Zinke resigns amid investigations

Ryan Zinke
12/15/18
Ryan Zinke, President Donald Trump’s loyal but embattled secretary of the Interior Department, is leaving the administration after less than two years on the job. President Trump made the announcement on Twitter early Saturday, saying Zinke had “accomplished much during his tenure” and thanking him for his service. Zinke had a tumultuous tenure as chief steward of America’s natural resources, facing nearly 20 federal investigations ― one of which his agency’s internal watchdog recently referred to the Justice Department for possible criminal violations ― and besieged by a steady drumbeat of unfavorable headlines. Likely to step in as acting secretary is Deputy Secretary David Bernhardt, a former oil and gas lobbyist who has played a key role in many regulatory rollbacks during Zinke’s time as agency chief.
Zinke pegged himself as a champion of public lands and a conservationist in the mold of President Theodore Roosevelt. While he initially enjoyed some support from Democrats and environmentalists, many quickly turned on him as he cozied up to fossil fuel interests, embraced sweeping budget cuts that his boss proposed, and prioritized Trump’s “energy dominance” agenda over habitat and resource conservation. Environmental groups applauded Saturday’s news. “Ryan Zinke will go down as the most anti-conservation Interior secretary in our nation’s history,” Jennifer Rokala, executive director of the Colorado-based conservation group Center for Western Priorities, said in a statement. Deputy Secretary Bernhardt is not without his own apparent conflicts of interests. As HuffPost reported, he’s met on several occasions with lobbyists for MGM Resorts International, the casino-resort giant that his longtime former employer also represents. In fact, Bernhardt has so many potential conflicts of interest that he carries a list around with him, The Washington Post reported in November.
Another corrupt corporatist leaves the corrupt Trump administration. Good riddance to bad rubbish. His replacement, David Bernhardt, is no better.
The American environment - land / air / water - will continue to degrade under Trump and his fossil-fuel-industry-lobbyist Interior Secretaries.
Remember Trumps four year war against the environment come November 2020.
Related: Interior Secretary Zinke resigns amid investigations