ENVIRONMENT/INTERIOR/JUSTICE DEPARTMENT/REGULATIONS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “Ryan Zinke, the secretary of the Interior Department and a key figure in President Trump’s push to roll back environmental regulations and ramp up oil drilling, is facing increased scrutiny amid federal investigations into allegations that he abused travel spending and maintained close ties with industries he oversees. The criticism escalated sharply following reports this week that the Interior Department’s Inspector General had referred one of the inquiries to the Justice Department, a potential prelude to a criminal investigation. The investigations have raised questions about Mr. Zinke’s oversight of the Interior Department, where he is essentially the largest land manager in the United States. He has authority over the nation’s 300 million acres of public lands as well as vast waters off the Atlantic and Pacific coasts and the Gulf of Mexico.”
–Coral Davenport and Steve Eder, “Ryan Zinke, Trump’s Interior Secretary, Faces Increased Ethics Scrutiny,” The New York Times online, October 31, 2018