Ryan Zinke, Trump Cabinet ‘Grifter’ With a California Home, Is All In on Montana

When Ryan Zinke resigned from former President Donald Trump’s Cabinet in 2018, he took with him at least 18 federal ethics inquiries, a hefty pile of legal fees and Trump’s lasting loyalty.

He’s now putting that loyalty to use while running in Montana’s newly created second congressional district—but his opponents from both sides of the aisle don’t intend to let voters forget the rest.

Republican candidate Dr. Al Olszewski has called Zinke “one of the most corrupt persons in Washington” and a “dishonest man.” Democratic candidate Monica Tranel, has called for Zinke to “drop out of this race and stop embarrassing our state.”

Tom Winter, another Democratic candidate, told The Daily Beast the ethics issues are a part of a bigger picture that he hopes voters will tune into. “He’s still being investigated for what he did in federal office, and he had to resign from the Trump administration because of it in disgrace.”

“And even if they’re Trump voters, as many people are, they don’t like cheaters, liars or people that take advantage of us. And that context matters more,” he said.

At the root of their criticisms is Zinke’s tenure as secretary of the interior, where he was a stalwart for Trump’s agenda to expand domestic energy production and oversaw huge rollbacks to Obama-era environmental policy. But as ethics controversies amassed and some of his cases were referred to the Justice Department, the White House reportedly pressured Zinke to exit by the end of 2018 or be fired.

Yet publicly, the president continuously stood by Zinke as he was investigated for allegedly retaliating against a whistleblower, misusing department resources and spending $139,000 on replacing three sets of doors, among other head-scratching moves. When Zinke announced he was leaving the administration because he could no longer justify spending thousands to defend himself against the claims, Trump thanked him for his service.

In the time between Zinke’s departure and his 2021 announcement of his plan to re-run for Congress, the love has not faded between the two allies. Trump swiftly issued an endorsement of Zinke’s campaign—which Zinke brandished on his campaign site and social media for all to see.

“Under Ryan Zinke’s leadership at the Department of the Interior, the U.S. achieved Energy Dominance… He will be a strong leader for the great Patriots of Montana. Ryan has my Complete and Total Endorsement for Congress!” the former president wrote.

That endorsement has not deterred Mary Todd, a Republican small-business owner also seeking the seat. A Trump supporter who is running on an “America First” platform, Todd said Zinke isn’t the best fit for the job. Montanans who need a “patriot” to represent them in Congress—and someone “who won’t leave office after they’ve been elected,” as Zinke did, after he was tapped for his administration job.

“He’s been in office. He has a history of things that he has done that are very questionable,” she told The Daily Beast, also pointing to concerns about Zinke’s record on abortion, which has been a point of contention in his previous races. The 2022 Montana…