Interior Dept. probe faults Zinke for travels with wife

Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke sought to skirt or alter department policies to justify his taxpayer-funded trips with his wife, the agency’s inspector general said in the latest critical report on travel practices by President Donald Trump's Cabinet members. Zinke's maneuvers included pressing Interior staffers to research whether his wife, Lola, could become a volunteer at the agency, a move the employees said was designed to enable her to travel with him at taxpayer expense, according to a report obtained by POLITICO that the inspector general's office will release next week. It said he also violated Interior policy by have her travel with him in federal vehicles. The report also revealed that Interior spent $25,000 to send a security detail on vacation with Ryan and Lola Zinke when they traveled through Turkey last year — a decision made by a U.S. Park Police supervisor worried about the couple’s safety. The IG report says Zinke often brought his wife on official trips and frequently reimbursed Interior for the costs. And while allowing a spouse to travel in federal vehicles violates the agency's policy, Interior Deputy Solicitor Edward Keable told the investigators that the restriction did not necessarily apply to the secretary...MORE