Zinke Wastes Taxpayer Money on Helicopter Rides

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke spent more than $14,000 of taxpayer money this summer on helicopter rides for him and his staff, according to a report in Politico. The report comes during an ongoing inspector general investigation into Zinke’s travel while secretary.

In response to the report, Ben Schreiber, Senior Political Strategist at Friends of the Earth, issued the following statement:

Yet again, Secretary Zinke has inappropriately wasted taxpayer funds on luxury travel. With each new example of misused government resources it becomes clearer: Zinke believes he’s above the law.

As the Department of Interior gets ready to jack up prices at our National Parks, their freewheeling leader squanders department resources. As Zinke redraws boundaries around sacred National Monuments to give land to oil and gas companies, he is taking government aircraft to keep up his busy schedule of horseback riding and celebrating congressmen who assault reporters.

In an administration defined by conflicts of interest, Secretary Zinke’s continued use of taxpayer funds as his private piggy bank stands out as especially egregious. Secretary Zinke should resign immediately and repay his frivolous travel expenses to the Treasury.

Expert contact: Ben Schreiber (202) 280-8743, [email protected]
Contacto de comunicaciones: Patrick Davis, (202) 222-0744, [email protected]