Zinke confirmed as interior secretary

The Senate voted 68-31 today to confirm Rep. Ryan Zinke, R-Mont., as secretary of the interior, giving him responsibility for overseeing the nation’s 400 million acres of public land, mostly in the West. Several Democrats from Western states, as well as those facing re-elections next year, voted for Zinke, including Jon Tester of Montana, Joe Donnelly of Indiana, and Joe Manchin of West Virginia. With Zinke’s approval, the Senate has confirmed 16 out of 22 of Trump’s Cabinet and Cabinet-level nominations. Zinke, a Republican in his second term as Montana’s sole House member, told senators at a January hearing that federal land management should follow a multiple-use model that allows hiking, hunting, fishing, and camping along with harvesting timber, mining for coal, and drilling for oil and natural gas.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.