2A/ETHICS/GUNS/INTERIOR/NRA/RYAN ZINKE: “In September, women gun owners and enthusiasts from the National Rifle Association headed to a plush Four Seasons resort in Texas for an annual retreat and clay shooting at the Dallas Gun Club with one of the weekend’s headliners: Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke… The meeting appears on the secretary’s official schedule as an informal luncheon with community leaders focused on sporting and conservation.
Zinke’s choice to meet with donors in the midst of official business is one of several travel decisions during his first year as secretary that have some critics questioning his priorities, even if they don’t necessarily violate agency rules. Zinke’s travel habits have already spawned two investigations, including one looking into whether his activities are in violation of the Hatch Act, which limits the political activity of federal employees.
A CNN review of documents found several examples that ethics watchdogs say raise questions about whether Zinke is misusing his travel privileges, despite receiving approval from the department’s lawyer and ethics officer…The spending comes as the Trump administration is pushing to cut the agency’s overall budget.
Zinke is one of several Cabinet secretaries who have faced intense scrutiny of their travel habits… Zinke’s schedule — or the parts of his schedule made public through various watchdog lawsuits — shows that Zinke often mixes political meetings with high-end accommodations and official duty on his trips, and has booked or tried to book charter flights for his travels.”
-Cristina Alesci, Sara Ganim, Rene Marsh, and Gregory Wallace, “Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke’s NRA visit among several trips being questioned,” CNN Politics, CNN.com, Feb. 27, 2018 09:52pm