Zinke continues to listen to special interests, ignore everyone else

Senators demand answers about monuments review, veterans call on Zinke to preserve national monuments, special interests continue to call the shots

Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke is antsy to get his lobbyist friends confirmed to top positions at Interior, but Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) wants hard answers on Zinke’s secret plan to shrink the national monuments. Zinke refuses to make his monuments review public, and has yet to answer requests to meet with the senator.

Just recently, prominent veterans group Voice Vets called others to hold the line on preserving our national monuments. Will Zinke, a former Navy SEAL, listen to the wishes of his fellow servicemen and women?

Kathleen Hartnett White Confirmation Roundup:

Did you miss yesterday’s Senate hearing on Kathleen Hartnett White’s nomination to become the new head of the White House’s Council on Environmental Quality? Here are 5 times Hartnett White couldn’t defend her absurd environment claims. Hartnett White has gained notoriety for authoring a book that claims the U.S. has an “estimated $50 trillion in untapped shale, oil, and natural gas reserves,” an erroneous claim repeated by President Trump and debunked by conservative American Action Forum.

Zinke Accountability Roundup:

This week, Zinke’s Interior Department became the poster child for the lobbyist-friendly Trump administration. Maybe that’s why Zinke is trying to put his thumb on the scale of Wyoming Gov. Matt Mead’s progress on the federally-approved sage grouse management plans and speed up the coal leasing process for oil and gas companies. We also discovered Zinke two-stepped his way around Nevada Governor Sandoval to discuss the sage grouse roll back with friendlier ears.

Trivia: Which top DOI official “led Louisiana’s push to lift the federal moratorium on Gulf Coast drilling imposed after BP PLC’s Deepwater Horizon oil spill” after Governor Bobby Jindal appointed him interim lieutenant governor?

A)    David Bernhardt, deputy secretary of the Interior

B)    Katharine “Kate MacGregor, deputy assistant secretary

C)    Scott Angelle, director of the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement

D)    James Cason, associate deputy secretary of the Interior

Answer: Scott Angelle! Find out more about Angelle’s deep ties to the oil industry here.

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