WASHINGTON D. C.: Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, facing federal investigations into his travel, political activity and potential conflicts of interest, will be leaving the administration at year’s end, President Donald Trump said Saturday (Sunday in Manila). In his resignation letter, obtained by The Associated Press, Zinke said “vicious and politically motivated attacks” against him had “created an unfortunate distraction” in fulfilling the agency’s mission.
Washington, District of Columbia : (FILES) In this file photo taken on January 17, 2017 US Congressman Ryan Zinke estifies before Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on his nomination to be Secretary of the Interior. US President Donald Trump said on December 15, 2018, that Zinke will be leaving at the end of the year -- the latest in a series of high-profile departures from the Trump's turnover-plagued administration. "Secretary of the Interior @RyanZinke will be leaving the Administration at the end of the year after having served for a period of almost two years," Trump wrote on Twitter, adding that a replacement would be announced next week. / AFP / JIM WATSON