Trump selects Zinke as interior secretary Presi
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Posted On: 12/13/2016 5:19:32 PM
Trump selects Zinke as interior secretary
President-elect Donald Trump has offered the interior secretary position to Montana’s freshman Rep. Ryan Zinke, an ex-Navy Seal commander, according to two transition officials and someone familiar with the offer.
The sources said Zinke has yet to accept and has given no indication as to which way he is leaning. But Zinke is also being discussed by prominent Washington Republicans as a possible 2018 candidate for the Montana Senate seat now held by Democrat Sen. Jon Tester.
Zinke’s office declined to comment, and Trump’s transition team did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Zinke was an early Trump supporter. The Big Sky state Republican threw his weight behind the controversial nominee-turned-commander-in-chief in late May and stuck by him despite numerous Democratic attacks for doing so. He also campaigned with him, and his wife, Lola, is a member of the transition team dealing with veterans issues.
If Zinke accepts a Cabinet nod, it would take a promising Republican challenger out of play for 2018.
Zinke, who was first elected to the House in 2014, has been considered a likely challenger to Tester in Montana ever since then. The Republican has built up statewide name recognition while winning two races in Montana’s sole House district. And the last two House members from the state both ran for Senate: Republicans Steve Daines, who won in 2014, and Denny Rehberg, who lost to Tester in 2012.
Tester is widely considered one of the most vulnerable Democratic senators up for reelection in 2018. The two-term Democrat helped boost Zinke’s 2016 House challenger, Denise Juneau, helping her fundraise and lending her staff during the campaign in the hope of knocking Zinke out of the House.
But Zinke won reelection with 56 percent of the vote — the same share that Trump got in Montana. Several weeks later, Zinke told the Associated Press that he was considering challenging Tester.
President-elect Donald Trump has offered the interior secretary position to Montana’s freshman Rep. Ryan Zinke, an ex-Navy Seal commander, according to two transition officials and someone familiar with the offer.
The sources said Zinke has yet to accept and has given no indication as to which way he is leaning. But Zinke is also being discussed by prominent Washington Republicans as a possible 2018 candidate for the Montana Senate seat now held by Democrat Sen. Jon Tester.
Zinke’s office declined to comment, and Trump’s transition team did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Zinke was an early Trump supporter. The Big Sky state Republican threw his weight behind the controversial nominee-turned-commander-in-chief in late May and stuck by him despite numerous Democratic attacks for doing so. He also campaigned with him, and his wife, Lola, is a member of the transition team dealing with veterans issues.
If Zinke accepts a Cabinet nod, it would take a promising Republican challenger out of play for 2018.
Zinke, who was first elected to the House in 2014, has been considered a likely challenger to Tester in Montana ever since then. The Republican has built up statewide name recognition while winning two races in Montana’s sole House district. And the last two House members from the state both ran for Senate: Republicans Steve Daines, who won in 2014, and Denny Rehberg, who lost to Tester in 2012.
Tester is widely considered one of the most vulnerable Democratic senators up for reelection in 2018. The two-term Democrat helped boost Zinke’s 2016 House challenger, Denise Juneau, helping her fundraise and lending her staff during the campaign in the hope of knocking Zinke out of the House.
But Zinke won reelection with 56 percent of the vote — the same share that Trump got in Montana. Several weeks later, Zinke told the Associated Press that he was considering challenging Tester.
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