Former Trump Cabinet Member Joins Line of Congressional Republicans Heading for the Exits

Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call via AP Images

Rep. Ryan Zinke (R-MT), who served as Secretary of the Interior during President Donald Trump’s first term, announced he was not running for re-election on Monday, citing health concerns and his personal belief in term limits.

A former Navy SEAL, Zinke served in the Montana Senate for four years, unsuccessfully ran in the GOP primary for Montana lieutenant governor, and then ran for Congress in 2014. Trump nominated him to head the Interior Department and he was sworn into office March 1, 2017.

Zinke would end up resigning his Cabinet post in December 2018 amid multiple federal ethics probes. He maintained he had committed no wrongdoing and claimed the investigations were “intended to harass” him.

He would end up returning to Congress after winning re-election in the 2022 elections, and has remained a staunch Trump ally.

Zinke announced his decision not to seek re-election in a social media post Monday, noting that he had “quietly undergone multiple surgeries” recently connected to his military service and was expected to need additional procedures and recovery time, explaining that he did not want to “run the risk of uncertain absence and missed votes.”

The text of the letter said:

To the Great People of Montana,

It has been my highest honor to serve America and the Great State of Montana as a U.S. Navy SEAL Commander, State Senator, Congressman, and the 52″d Secretary of the Interior. It has been my privilege to fight on the front lines defending freedom, faith, family, and the values that make America and Montana strong.

Battles are not fought alone, and with your support we have unleashed America’s energy potential, removed excessive regulation, lowered taxes, passed the Great American Outdoors Act to repair and preserve our National Parks and Forests, and saved our treasured public lands from being sold to the highest bidder.

We have also secured critical funding for Montana bridges, roads, sewer systems, water infrastructure, public access points, conservation projects, and helped thousands of Montanans successfully navigate through the Federal bureaucracy to solve real problems that matter to the people that I am honored to represent. Service is a duty that I will always hold sacred, and I am grateful for the opportunity to make a difference.

As for my service and duty going forward, I have made the decision to leave office at the end of my fourth term and not seek re-election. I do not take this decision lightly and have informed President Trump, the Governor, and senior leadership of this difficult but necessary decision.

While my belief in Term Limits for elected office is a consideration, I have quietly undergone multiple surgeries since I returned to Congress and unfortunately face several more immediately after leaving office. The injuries sustained from a career in Special Operations are not immediately life threatening, but the repair cannot be deferred any longer and recovery will require considerable time with Lola and the family. My judgement and experience tell me it is better for Montana and America to have full-time representation in Congress than run the risk of uncertain absence and missed votes.

It has been a great privilege to serve Montana and our great Nation as the first U.S. Navy SEAL to serve in the State Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives, and the first Montanan to serve as a Cabinet Secretary.

May God Bless Montana and all those who defend her.

Ryan K. Zinke
Congresman, Montana’s First District
52nd U.S Secretary of the Interior
Commander, U.S. Navy SEALs (ret)

Zinke will serve the remainder of his term. His retirement makes him the 31st Congressional Republican to not run for re-election. Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) is already struggling to preserve the very narrow GOP majority in the House, with 218 Republicans, 214 Democrats, and three seats vacant, meaning he can only afford to lose a single Republican member’s support on any party line vote. Tied votes fail, and there is no tie-breaker for the House like the role Vice President JD Vance serves in the Senate.

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