Secretary Ryan Zinke has been linked to real estate deals and questionable actions that benefit lawmakers, businesses and family

An ethics watchdog has referred findings of misconduct by the US interior secretary to lawyers at the justice department who will decide whether to pursue a criminal investigation, according to the Washington Post and CNN.

The watchdog – the interior department’s inspector general - has conducted several probes involving Secretary Ryan Zinke, and it’s not clear which the Justice Department could review.

Zinke has been linked to a real estate deal with the chairman of the oil-services company Halliburton. Two Native American tribes in Connecticut allege Zinke illegally blocked their plans to expand a casino after facing political pressure from competing businesses. And critics say Zinke also redrew the boundaries of a national monument to benefit a state lawmaker.

An inspector general report released earlier this month found Zinke inappropriately allowed family members to ride with him in government vehicles and pressured his staff to let his wife be an official volunteer, which would mean she could travel on trips for free.

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“Zinke’s scandals are an embarrassment and he’s clearly unfit to serve,” said Randi Spivak, public lands director at the Center for Biological Diversity. “Zinke has dedicated himself to self-serving deals and selling out public lands to the fossil-fuel industry. He should do all Americans a favor and resign. No matter when he leaves office, Zinke will go down as one of the worst interior secretaries in history.”

Other members of the Trump administration have been scrutinized for alleged ethical failings. Environmental protection agency administrator Scott Pruitt rented a condo from lobbyists with business before his agency, flew only in first class and spent millions on security and $43,000 on a soundproof booth for phone calls. At the time he was asked to step down, he was being investigated by the justice department, CNN reported.

Trump’s health and human services secretary Tom Price also departed after federal inquiries into his use of private jets.

Zinke’s department has moved to ease species protections and environmental standards for energy production and to shrink national monuments, in line with some of Trump’s major priorities. But it was recently reported that he could leave his post after the November midterms.

The interior department and its inspector general, as well as the justice department, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.