Grade 2 of 5: Major Abuse of Power
Ryan Zinke's Interior Department: Ethics Violations, Developer Deals, Land Monuments Gutted
Zinke took a $12,375 charter flight from Las Vegas to Montana after speaking to the Vegas Golden Knights, a hockey team owned by a major campaign donor; the Interior Inspector General found the speech was not official business. A foundation he created was involved with Halliburton chairman David Lesar in a development project in his hometown of Whitefish, Montana. Two Connecticut tribes said Interior refused to sign off on their casino project after lobbying by MGM Resorts International and two Nevada Republican lawmakers. He reduced Bears Ears National Monument by 85% and Grand Staircase-Escalante by nearly half — the largest rollback of protected federal land in U.S. history. He resigned in December 2018; Interior's Inspector General had referred his conduct to the Justice Department in October 2018.