CORRECTION; Sen. Heitkamp was being considered for Secretary of Energy, not for Secretary of the Interior. The position of Secretary of the Interior was expected to go to Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R - WA-05), but that was never official.
The original post is as follows;
President-Elect Donald Trump chose Rep. Ryan Zinke (R MT-AL) to be his Secretary of the Interior.
Zinke fits the mold of an Interior Secretary, he's on the House Subcomittee on Energy and Mineral Resources, and he hails from a Western state, as the Secretary of the Interior usually does. But his nomination is something of a surprise, as the general guess from almost everyone was that Trump was considering Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND) for the position.
Having a token member of the opposition would allow him to claim that his Cabinet is bipartisan, and - because her confirmation would have triggered a special election within 90 days to replace her - it would have expanded the Republican's narrow Senate majority as well. But that's just another example of the mystery wrapped in an enigma wrapped inside a fitted suit that is Donald Trump.
The pick is a blessing in disguise for the blue team; Zinke was a likely prospective challenger to Sen. John Tester (D-MT), so his removal from the playing field improves their chances of holding the seat in 2018.
- Greg.B
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