Steve Benen notes that Montana, in the wake of the Census results, is picking up a second seat in the House of Representatives – and former Secretary of the Interior Ryan ZInke (R-MT) is already gearing up for a run. Benen summarizes Zinke’s tour under former President Trump:
Arguably no cabinet secretary from the Trump era was more controversial than the Republican secretary of the Interior. Roll Call‘s report noted that Zinke “came under at least 15 different investigations” before resigning, and that is not an exaggeration.
In Dec. 2018, the New York Times published a round-up of pending investigations into the Montana Republican, and it was a strikingly long list. Media Matters also put together a timeline of “the Interior secretary’s questionable actions and controversies,” and that list was even longer.
And, if he does, I’ll really wish I was a journalist, if only to ask a series of snarky questions, such as:
- How many scandals does the typical Representative become involved in, sir? Do you think you can double or triple that number, sir?
- Do you believe that you can do better than former Representative Weiner (D-NY)? He had quite the number, you know.
- Or will you be competing in terms of exotic?
- Is your motivation money or prestige, sir?
Because we know that neither shame nor notoriety will stop a member of the current crop of Republicans from running.
