Zinke cozies up to industry reps at exclusive Washington hotel

Interior Secretary Zinke’s love of special interests on full display at the Hay-Adams

Card-carrying swamp member and Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke today hosted an event with the National Petroleum Council at the exclusive Hay-Adams Hotel.

According to the $500-per-night hotel’s website, the Hay-Adams is a “discreetly luxurious hotel destination for discerning guests.” Unfortunately, Zinke’s open pandering and favoritism for the oil and gas industries is anything but discreet. During the event, Zinke confirmed that the White House intended to loosen up standards for drilling on public lands.

Chris Saeger, executive director of Western Values Project, had this to say about Secretary Zinke’s announcement:

Today, the public got a glimpse of Interior Secretary Zinke’s day-to-day life surrounded by lobbyists and special interests in their natural habitat. If Ryan Zinke remembered his Western values, he’d fight for public lands rather than the special interests that get almost whatever they want from the department. Instead, under Zinke’s leadership, the Interior Department has stacked the deck against the public in order to line the pockets of his friends in the oil industry.”

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