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You're Hired: Tracking the Trump Administration Transition - December 14, 2016
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This is the December 14, 2016, edition of a daily email sent from November 2016 to September 2017 that covered Donald Trump's presidential transition team, potential cabinet appointees, and the different policy positions of those individuals who may have had an effect on the new administration. Previous editions of "You're Hired" can be found here.
As of December 14, 2016, Trump had officially announced 12 out of 15 cabinet nominations.
Possible nominations
Ryan Zinke
President-elect Trump has reportedly offered to nominate U.S. Rep. Ryan Zinke (R-Mont.) to be considered for secretary of the interior. The Department of the Interior, currently led by Sally Jewell, is responsible for managing federal lands, the development of energy resources on those lands, the country’s national parks, and federally run dams and reservoirs.
This comes after reports from last week that Trump was planning to tap Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.) for the job. Read more about that here. Following the news of Zinke’s potential nomination, McMorris Rodgers posted on her official Facebook page, “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.”
Zinke was first elected to the U.S. House in 2014 and was re-elected in 2016. He endorsed Donald Trump for president in May 2016; in an interview just last week he explained his support for Trump, saying, “I was an early adopter to Trump. The status quo was not working.” Prior to his election to the U.S. House, Zinke served in the Montana State Senate from 2009 to 2013 and was a Navy SEAL from 1985 to 2008. During his service, Zinke commanded troops in Bosnia, Kosovo, and Iraq while also training SEALs as an executive officer at the SEAL Training Center.
What is Zinke’s record on issues involving public land use and management?
For background on federal land use and transfers, see here. Like Trump, Zinke has opposed selling federal lands to the states for management. He has, however, supported efforts to transfer some management of public lands to individual states.
- As a candidate for lieutenant governor in 2012, Zinke reportedly signed the Montana Constitutional Governance Pledge, a conservative activist-authored pledge that said, in part, “The undersigned Candidates pledge to work to restore all lands unlawfully seized by the Federal government, whether by congressional Acts, Rules, Laws, Decree, Executive Order, or any other means under color of law, to be returned to its rightful owners, the Sovereign Citizens of Montana.” Conservative activist Edwin Berry said Zinke signed the pledge on May 2, 2012; Zinke said he did not remember seeing or signing it.
- In 2014, when he was an outgoing state senator and candidate for the U.S. House, Zinke came out in support of some Montana management of federal lands. Claiming it would allow for better management of public lands, the Republican Party of Montana put the transfer of federal lands to the state as a plank in its party platform that year. Zinke said, “From every side the state is doing a better job, and we have to look at why and what’s the state doing that the feds aren’t doing.” But he did not support transferring the land as a solution to what Republicans saw as federal mismanagement. Speaking of full transfer to the state, Zinke said, “I’m not there yet — I’ve never seen a path forward on it that we can get there where it matters to people in the short term. I’m absolutely opposed to selling, but I do think we should force, if necessary, federal policy to return to a much better balance.”
- In April 2015, Zinke voted against a federal budget amendment that included language Zinke believed would allow for the sale of federal lands. He defended his vote, which went against party lines, saying, “This conference process resulted in the revised budget resolution that included a provision that, as a fifth generation Montanan, I simply could not vote for. It included vaguely-written language to allow the sale of public lands. I have said before, and I will say again: Montana is not for sale.”
- In May 2015, Zinke discussed his views on climate change with the Bozeman Daily Chronicle. He said, “You know, if you go up to Glacier (National) Park and you have your lunch on one of the glaciers, you will see the glacier recede as you eat lunch. So you know I have seen the change in my lifetime. So something's going on, and so I think you need to be prudent. It doesn't mean I think you need to be destructive on fossil fuels, but I think you need to be prudent and you need to invest in all-the-above energy.”
- Zinke voted against an amendment to the Department of the Interior appropriations bill in June 2015. That amendment would have prohibited the department from selling large portions of public land. Of his vote, Zinke said, “I understand our land is our way of life. It supports our tourism and timber industries and provides an unrivaled landscape for hunting, fishing, hiking, camping and vacation for millions of visitors and locals alike. I will always be a steadfast defender of Montana public lands.”
- In June 2016, he voted to send the “Self Sufficient Community Lands Act,” a proposed bill to create a pilot program installing state management of some federal lands, to the floor for a vote. The act did not allow for the transfer or sale of federal lands to the states.
- In July 2016, Zinke resigned his position as a delegate to the Republican National Convention over the party’s platform. The platform called for “universal legislation providing a timely and orderly mechanism requiring the federal government to convey certain federally controlled public lands to the states.” Zinke disagreed with the provision, telling the Billings Gazette, “What I saw was a platform that was more divisive than uniting. At this point, I think it's better to show leadership.”
For more context on Zinke, public lands, and the 2016 elections, see Ballotpedia’s fact check from July 2016.
Oil and natural gas extraction
Zinke has weighed in specifically on issues of oil and natural gas extraction on federal and tribal lands as well. For background on oil and gas on federal lands, see here.
- In November 2016, Zinke responded to the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) regulatory rule on methane emissions, saying, “The BLM has issued a duplicative and unnecessary rule against responsible oil and gas development in Montana and on sovereign Tribal lands. This rule is a stark reminder that we need to invest in infrastructure projects like the Keystone pipeline, so we don’t need to flare excess gas. Furthermore, new technology in oil and gas development has led to incredible reductions in emissions over the years. I trust Montana’s energy workers to continue their good work and technological breakthroughs more than I trust unelected bureaucrats.”
- In April 2015, he spoke on proposed BLM regulations on fracking in the states, saying, “There seems to be a greater amount of expertise in the states. I am concerned about the science of what we’re doing and who is in the best position to make sure that what we’re doing is right…Who within the BLM staff has relevant, current experience in fracking? … If you don’t have the modern expertise, are you asking for more people to do it? And why are we asking then for more people to do it when the states probably have the better expertise? Are we making a solution to a problem that isn’t there?”
American Indian issues
The Department of the Interior is also responsible for running the Bureau of Indian Affairs. According to the Census Bureau, American Indians account for about 6.6 percent of Montana’s population. As a member of the U.S. House, Zinke has:
- Voted in favor of the Native American Energy Act, which proposed to change the judicial review process for energy projects on tribal lands and to streamline licensing for tribal energy projects. Of the bill, Zinke said, “This bill represents a significant step for tribes across the country, especially in my state of Montana. I have only been in this seat for a short time and I can tell you that the government, the federal government, has infringed on the sovereignty of our tribes to develop their own natural resources. … It’s not right for the Crow People who want to develop their coal. It’s not right for every Indian Nation across this land. The government hinders their ability to develop energy resources.”
- Introduced a bill that would give federal recognition to the Little Shell Band of Chippewa Cree Indians. The bill was attached to a larger piece of legislation that aimed to restructure the way American Indian groups are recognized by the federal government. The bill to which it was attached—the Tribal Recognition Act—proposes taking the power to recognize tribes away from the Department of the Interior and giving it to Congress.
- Supported the passage of the Blackfeet Water Rights Settlement Act, which established water rights for the Blackfeet Tribe, giving them “the ability to use, lease, contract, or exchange water on tribal land, and protect the tribe’s water rights from development by others,” according to the Flathead Beacon.
Reactions from Montana
- Steve Daines (R-Mont.), a member of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources which has initial hearings in the secretary of interior nomination, said in a series of tweets: “I couldn't think of a better fit for Secretary of the Interior than @RepRyanZinke. As a westerner, @RepRyanZinke understands the challenges of having the federal government as your largest neighbor. In Congress, I’ve seen @RepRyanZinke stand up and fight to protect our way of life. .@RepRyanZinke protected us abroad and in combat and I know he will do the same for our treasured public lands as Secretary of the Interior.”
- Bryan Sybert, executive director of the Montana Wilderness Association, told the Bozeman Daily Chronicle: “Should he be appointed secretary of interior, we expect Rep. Ryan Zinke to carry Montana’s values into that role. That means protecting access to public lands, ensuring our forests and prairies are indeed managed for multiple uses and not just resource extraction, and respecting that wild places and public lands are core American values that he’ll need to protect for all citizens. Rep. Zinke has a checkered record when it comes to public lands, including a vote for developing wilderness areas, but has taken a few good votes against lands transfer and for the Land and Water Conservation Fund. Rep. Zinke has called himself a Roosevelt conservationist, and we will hold him to everything that definition entails.”
- Harry Barnes, chairman of the Blackfeet Tribe, told the Montana Standard, “This is a great day for Montana with the selection of Representative Ryan Zinke as Secretary of the Interior. Rep. Zinke has worked steadfast on the Blackfeet Water Compact. ... The Blackfeet and other Montana tribes will have an ear in the Department of Interior, which oversees the Bureau of Indian Affairs.”
Side note: If Zinke is nominated and confirmed, he would be the first Montanan to serve in a presidential Cabinet.
Nominations and appointments
Rick Perry
Trump confirmed that he would nominate former Texas Governor Rick Perry as secretary of energy. We wrote about Perry on December 13.
See also
- You're Hired: Tracking the Trump Administration Transition
- Donald Trump presidential transition team
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