Former Trump official Zinke eyes Montana's new US House seat
HELENA, Mont. (AP) — Former Montana congressman and Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission Thursday indicating he's interested in running for the second U.S. House seat awarded to the state on Monday.
Zinke has filed to organize a campaign committee. Montana was awarded the second U.S. House seat, starting in 2023, based on the most recent U.S. Census results. The district boundaries have yet to be set.
A call to a number believed to be Zinke's rang unanswered Thursday and there was no voicemail set up. A call to the campaign's treasurer, Lorna Kuney, was not immediately returned.
Zinke is a former U.S. Navy Seal who served in the Montana Senate from 2009-2013. He was Montana's lone U.S. House member from 2015-2017 before then-President Donald Trump appointed him to head the Department of Interior in early 2017.
Zinke resigned from the Interior post in December 2018 amid several investigations that he said were politically motivated and that “created an unfortunate distraction” in fulfilling the agency's mission.