Interior’s in-house watchdog said Monday that it will keep pursuing the multiple investigations it has open into Zinke. | Cliff Owen/Ap Photo energy and environment Zinke's exit won't end scandal probes

Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke is leaving plenty of headaches for the White House on his way to the exits, as the probes into his policies and ethics scandals show every sign of continuing and Democrats vow to turn the spotlight onto his replacement.

Zinke quietly left the White House on Monday afternoon after a scheduled meeting with President Donald Trump, who had announced Saturday that the secretary would resign in early January. The fall of the former Montana congressman and Navy SEAL comes after more than a dozen probes into his use of public money and mixing of official, political and personal business.


Interior’s in-house watchdog said Monday that it will keep pursuing the multiple investigations it has open into Zinke. The probes by the Interior inspector general’s office include one into Zinke's involvement in a Montana land deal — first uncovered by POLITICO — that is backed by Dave Lesar, chairman of the giant energy company Halliburton. Zinke met with Lesar at his office at Interior's headquarters last year, then discussed the development project over dinner, as POLITICO has reported.

“At this point, everything is continuing,” Interior inspector general spokesperson Nancy DiPaolo said, though she did not elaborate on the extent of the IG's probes.

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The Justice Department declined to comment on multiple news reports that it is pursuing its own probe into the land deal. But if such a criminal probe were underway at DOJ, Zinke's departure would be unlikely to derail it, said Brendan Fischer, director of the federal reform program at the watchdog group Campaign Legal Center.

“The DOJ generally wouldn’t halt an investigation just because a person had left office,” Fischer said.

Still, Craig Holman, government affairs lobbyist with watchdog organization Public Citizen, said that with Zinke out of the Trump administration, "there will be political pressure on [DOJ] to drop the case" from a White House already putting out a number of legal and ethical controversies.

On top of those investigations, Zinke and his successor will still have to face House Democrats who are eager to scrutinize the Trump administration’s policies of opening lands for drilling and mining while shrinking the size of protected federal monuments in the West.

Rep. Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.), who's set to take the gavel at the House Natural Resources Committee, is itching to use his new power to hold hearings with David Bernhardt, the deputy secretary who will at least temporarily fill in for Zinke, and whomever the White House chooses to permanently lead the department.

“We intend to continue conducting rigorous oversight of how Interior political appointees arrive at major policy decisions, who they consult, who they ignore, and who stands to benefit financially,” Grijalva said in a statement. “Deputy Secretary Bernhardt should be prepared to answer those questions early in the new Congress, and so should Secretary Zinke’s successor."

Among the issues high on Democrats' list are the potential effects of oil and gas drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, which Interior opened for exploration earlier this year, as well as the potential conflicts of interest of the Interior officials who are writing rules to expedite energy production on federal land and waters.

That congressional oversight will also include the public health and climate change effects of decisions, such as the Trump administration's rewriting of Obama-era fracking rules. And the committee expects to delve into the decision to shrink the Bears Ears National and Grand Staircase-Escalante monuments in Utah.



The White House is expected to announce a replacement for Zinke this week, and so far about a half-dozen names have emerged of people who might fit Trump’s ideal picture of the Interior secretary as a rugged, outdoorsy Westerner.

Energy industry lobbyists have mentioned Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.), who had been one of the leading candidates for the job two years ago before Zinke met with Trump about the post. But Rodgers, who has been working with Ivanka Trump on non-energy issues, “is not seeking or interested in Interior,” a person familiar with her thinking told POLITICO.

Other potential candidates include Idaho Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter and Sen. Dean Heller, who lost his reelection bid in November. A source close to Heller’s office said the Nevada Republican thinks the job is his to lose and that his staffers are contemplating what roles they might serve at Interior.

But Trump might not look favorably on the relatively centrist paths those two have taken on energy issues, and one source familiar with the process cast doubt on Heller being a front-runner.

“I don’t think it’s true,” the source said.

Both Heller and Otter have touted wind and solar energy even as Trump has denigrated those sources and pushed for more oil, natural gas and coal. Otter in particular may be too centrist for a president who appreciates full-throated counterattacks, said Paul Blair, director of strategic initiatives with Americans for Tax Reform.

“This is not a guy who is going to take on his adversaries in the House the way that Zinke did,” Blair said.

And while Heller could have an easy path for Senate confirmation, Trump might instead focus on the turbulence he caused when Republicans sought to roll back the Affordable Care Act. Trump would also be turned off by Heller’s losing his Senate race, two sources said.

“If [White House officials] mention Dean Heller, there are two things that will go through his mind,” said a former administration official, who asked for anonymity to discuss personnel issues. “One is, ‘Oh, he lost,’ and two is, ‘He was my problem on Obamacare.’”

In the end, the search may end where it started — with Bernhardt, who has already won Senate confirmation.

Bernhardt, a longtime energy industry lobbyist, is said to be reluctant to move into the spotlight that comes with being a sitting Cabinet member. He would certainly become a target for environmental groups unhappy with his role in weakening the Endangered Species Act and giving the oil and gas industry a bigger voice in influencing Interior's policy.

But he would be a welcome choice for the oil and gas industry looking to continue Trump’s push to expand production.

“He’s been the one doing the day-to-day operations enacting those policies, so we would be very pleased to see him in that role,” said Kathleen Sgamma, head of the Western Energy Alliance trade association.