President-elect Donald Trump has selected Montana Rep. Ryan Zinke to be his interior secretary, according to multiple news reports. NPR has not independently confirmed those reports.
Zinke is a first-term congressman and a former Navy SEAL commander who served in Iraq and was awarded two Bronze Stars. He was re-elected to a second term last month with 56 percent of the vote.
In the House, the Republican lawmaker serves on the Natural Resources Committee and has split with his party before to defend public access to federal lands. Zinke resigned his position this summer as a delegate to the Republican National Convention after the GOP platform supported transferring federal public lands to the states.
"What I saw was a platform that was more divisive than uniting," Zinke told the Billings Gazette in July. "At this point, I think it's better to show leadership."
Zinke still spoke at the convention in Cleveland in support of Trump, whom he endorsed last May.
However, Zinke is overall not praised by environmentalists. He has just a 3 percent voting record with the League of Conservation Voters and is a supporter of coal, oil and gas exploration. He also backs building the Keystone XL pipeline.
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http://www.npr.org/2016/12/13/505462597/trump-taps-montana-rep-ryan-zinke-to-lead-interior-department
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