Trump’s Secretary of the Interior must have learned how to issue epic counterpunches from the president himself, because rarely have I seen such a vicious retort in politics.
It happened after Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva of Arizona wrote an op-ed calling for his ouster:
I take no pleasure in calling for this step, and I have resisted it even as questions have grown about Mr. Zinke’s ethical and managerial failings. Unfortunately, his conduct in office and President Donald Trump’s neglect in setting ethical standards for his own cabinet have made it unavoidable.
While the secretary continues to project confidence, questions have grown since the election about his future plans, and the White House reportedly fears that he would be unable to withstand scrutiny on Capitol Hill. Those fears are justified. Mr. Zinke has never even tried to offer an explanation for the sheer scope of his well-documented scandals.
This silence is insulting to the American people, and given the Nov. 6 election results it is unsustainable. Continuing in office as though nothing has changed only shows how little Mr. Zinke has learned over the past year and a half. He holds his job as a public trust, not as a stepping stone to his further personal ambitions. He has abused that trust and damaged the Interior Department in the process. The least he can do is step down and give his successor a chance to begin reversing that damage.
Here was Zinke’s scathing hot response:
“It’s hard for him to think straight from the bottom of the bottle. This is coming from a man who used nearly $50,000 in tax dollars as hush money to cover up his drunken and hostile behavior. He should resign and pay back the taxpayer for the hush money and the tens of thousands of dollars he forced my department to spend investigating unfounded allegations.”
This sums up my immediate reaction to Zinke’s retort:
Here’s what Zinke is referring to:
Zinke’s assertion references a $48,000 settlement Grijalva entered into with a former employee on the House Natural Resources Committee who accused him of being frequently drunk and creating a hostile work environment. The 2015 deal was first reported on last year. The Tune Inn is a bar on Capitol Hill.
Yup. I mean with that background he has to expect people to bring it up. That’s exactly why you don’t want these kinds of scumbags representing you, Arizona. That’s not to excuse any malfeasance that Zinke might be guilty of, but it definitely takes away the supposed moral high ground Grijalva is trying to take here.