Donald Trump has chosen Ryan ZInke as his Interior Secretary, according to a report by Reuters. The Interior Department employs more than 70,000 people across the United States and oversees more than 20 percent of federal land, including national parks like Yellowstone and Yosemite.
A senior official in the transition committee confirmed the appointment on Tuesday. Zinke is a first-term Republican U.S. Representative from Montana, and a former Navy SEAL commander.
The choice of 55 year old Zinke is a surprise to many Republicans as Trump had earlier considered nominating U.S. Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers of Washington state for the position.
A Trump aide told Reuters last week that McMorris Rodgers had been picked for the post. She had met Trump at his golf resort in Bedminster, New Jersey, shortly after the president-elect began his Cabinet search.
However, a source close to the congresswoman had told newsmen on Tuesday that she was not given the appointment.
McMorris Rodgers had commented on the issue in a recent Facebook post, saying:
It was an honor to be invited to spend time with the president-elect, and I’m energized more than ever to continue leading in Congress as we think big, reimagine this government, and put people back at the center of it,” McMorris Rodgers said in a Facebook post.
Zinke has been a staunch Trump supporter from the time of the campaign.
Trump spokesman Jason Miller said him, shortly before meeting with the president-elect:
“Congressman Zinke is a strong advocate for American energy independence, and he supports an all-encompassing energy policy that includes renewables, fossil fuels and alternative energy,”
In July, Zinke resigned as a delegate to the Republican nominating convention because the party platform called for transferring public lands to the states.
“What I saw was a platform that was more divisive than uniting,” Zinke told the Billings Gazette. “At this point, I think it’s better to show leadership.”
Public land comprises more than 30 percent of Montana, according to the Montana Wilderness Association.
The League of Conservation Voters, which ranks lawmakers on their environmental record, gave Zinke an extremely low lifetime score of 3 percent.
The Wilderness Society, a leading conservation group, said it was concerned by Zinke’s support for logging, drilling and mining on public lands.
The Interior Department also oversees the Bureau of Indian Affairs and handles tribal policy.