Trump Cabinet Secretary With History of Wasting Taxpayer Funds Under Spotlight Again
U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke is under fire after an Associated Press report revealed he spent $139,000 on a door. The Interior Dept. Secretary’s spokesperson had refused to explain what the expenditure is for, and the company that installed the door hung up on an AP reporter.
But an Interior Dept. spokesperson later decided to explain to the AP what the charge was for – while blaming the huge cost on “regulations,” a favorite target of the Trump administration.
“The secretary was not aware of this contract but agrees that this is a lot of money for demo, install, materials and labor,†spokeswoman Heather Swift told the AP in an emailed statement. “Between regulations that require historic preservation and outdated government procurement rules, the costs for everything from pencils to printing to doors is astronomical. This is a perfect example of why the secretary believes we need to reform procurement processes.â€
The “Secretary’s door,” according to the Interior Dept. is actually three sets of doors, including “balcony doors [that] leak ‘like a sieve’ whenever it rains, forcing workers to mop the 80-year-old wooden floor in Zinke’s office.”
U.S. Congressman Ted Lieu (D-CA) decided to have some fun while highlighting the scandal.
This is not Zinke’s first scandal as Interior Secretary.
Like many in Trump’s cabinet, Zinke has his own unique travel preferences that cost taxpayers exorbitant amounts of money.
Zinke is already under investigation for spending money on questionable charter flights, including “a $12,375 flight Zinke chartered from Las Vegas to an airport near his home in Montana, where he spent the night,” the LA Times reported last year.
“The four-hour flight to Montana earlier in the summer enabled Zinke to attend a dinner where he spoke to the Vegas Golden Knights, a new National Hockey League team that is owned by one of Zinke’s most generous political donors.”
In 2017 he spent $53,000 on helicopter trips. One of them cost taxpayers $6250. Its purpose? To go horseback riding with Vice President Mike Pence.
RELATED STORIES:
Fox & Friends Likens 9/11 Memorial to Confederate Statues
Puerto Rico’s Governor Demands Cancellation of Controversial Whitefish Contract
Image by U.S. Department of Energy via Flickr