Dems knock Zinke for trashing his staff to oil crowd

Congressional Democrats are criticizing Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke after he said nearly one-third of employees at his department are not loyal to him and President Donald Trump. Zinke had said that when he took over the 70,000-employee department in March, “I got 30 percent of the crew that’s not loyal to the flag” and compared Interior to a pirate ship. Rep. Raul Grijalva of Arizona said Tuesday that Zinke should “apologize to the public servants he is supposed to be leading.” Grijalva, the top Democrat on the House Natural Resources Committee, said that as a former Navy SEAL, Zinke “should be well aware that loyalty is earned. And you don’t earn it — or deserve it — with divisive comments like these.” Zinke compared Interior to a pirate ship that captures “a prized ship at sea and only the captain and the first mate row over” to finish the mission. Interior has “good people,” Zinke said, “but the direction has to be clear and you’ve got to hold people accountable.” Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., said Interior employees “deserve respect from the man charged with leading them — not cheap shots in the press.” The Associated Press reported Zinke’s comments at a speech Monday to an oil industry group. Cantwell, the top Democrat on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, said Zinke’s comments “betray a fundamental misunderstanding of the role of federal civil service.” Most of Interior’s 70,000 workers “are non-political employees charged with implementing and enforcing laws passed by Congress,” she said, adding that many have vast expertise in their areas of responsibility...more