Former US Interior boss parlays post into private career
Source: Associated Press
Former US Interior boss parlays post into private career
By MATTHEW BROWN and ELLEN KNICKMEYER
April 16, 2019
BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Former U.S. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke is quickly parlaying his time in President Donald Trump’s cabinet into a lucrative private career.
He’s landed a more than $100,000-a-year post at a Nevada mining company and is pursuing involvement in natural gas exports that have surged under Trump, Zinke told The Associated Press Tuesday.
The rapid transition from the highest levels of the executive branch to the corporate boardroom is raising questions about possible conflicts of interest.
It comes fewer than four months after Zinke left a Cabinet position overseeing the country’s oil and gas, coal and other natural resources and those companies that profit off their extraction.
Zinke told AP that his work for Nevada-based U.S. Gold Corp., which focuses on mining exploration and development, would not constitute lobbying. But the company’s CEO cited Zinke’s “excellent relationship” with the Bureau of Land Management and the Interior Department in explaining his hiring as a consultant and board member.
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Read more: https://apnews.com/a05436323c744cc6bdcb809fb199e6f3
