"Ryan Zinke Is One Step Closer To Becoming Interior Secretary"

"Rep. Ryan Zinke’s nomination to become interior secretary passed a Senate committee Tuesday, placing him one step closer to lead an agency that manages millions of acres of federal land and the natural resources under it.

The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources approved Zinke (R-Mont.), on a 16-6 vote largely along party lines. Zinke’s nomination now goes to the Senate floor, where he will probably be confirmed. All of the committee’s 12 Republicans voted in Zinke’s favor, including Sen. Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), its chairman; Sen. Jeff Sessions (Ala.), who was in the middle of his own vote in the Judiciary Committee to become attorney general; and Sen. Jeff Flake (Ariz.).

But six Democrats who grilled Zinke on issues such as climate change and sexual harassment at his hearing voted no, including Sens. Bernie Sanders (Vt.), an independent who caucuses with Democrats; Al Franken (Minn.) and Tammy Duckworth (Ill.). Four Democrats approved the nomination."

Darryl Fears reports for the Washington Post January 31, 2017.