Rep. Raúl Grijalva: “While many white-collar professionals can follow social distancing guidelines, essential bluecollar workers are tasked with holding our country together by delivering the hands-on vital services we need to survive.”

Southern Arizona Congressman Raul Grijalva today called for Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke to resign to avoid the scrutiny he will face when Grijalva takes over as chair of the House Natural Resources Committee when the House shifts to Democratic control in January.

From Grijalva’s USA Today op-ed:

Ryan Zinke needs to resign immediately as Secretary of the Interior.

I take no pleasure in calling for this step, and I have resisted it even as questions have grown about Mr. Zinke’s ethical and managerial failings. Unfortunately, his conduct in office and President Donald Trump’s neglect in setting ethical standards for his own cabinet have made it unavoidable.

While the secretary continues to project confidence, questions have grown since the election about his future plans, and the White House reportedly fears that he would be unable to withstand scrutiny on Capitol Hill. Those fears are justified. Mr. Zinke has never even tried to offer an explanation for the sheer scope of his well-documented scandals.

This silence is insulting to the American people, and given the Nov. 6 election results it is unsustainable. Continuing in office as though nothing has changed only shows how little Mr. Zinke has learned over the past year and a half. He holds his job as a public trust, not as a stepping stone to his further personal ambitions. He has abused that trust and damaged the Interior Department in the process. The least he can do is step down and give his successor a chance to begin reversing that damage.

Zinke responded on Twitter by calling Grijalva a drunk.

Grijalva response to Zinke’s tweet:

The American people know who I’m here to serve, and they know in whose interests I’m acting. They don’t know the same about Secretary Zinke.

This article appears in Nov 29 – Dec 5, 2018.

Getting hassled by The Man Mild-mannered reporter

9 replies on “Grijalva Calls for Interior Sec. Zinke’s Resignation; Zinke Calls Grijalva a Drunk”

  3. Grijalva is what he is. In terms of taking care of the environment, there are few like him. Zinke has no class, just like his boss.

  4. Grijalva is one of the worst disasters in the history of politics. He’s the one who needs to resign, not Zinke.

  6. Say what you will about Zinke, but at least he didn’t change his name from Ralph to Raul just to sound more ethnic (i.e., Mexican) ,,,

  7. Grijalva is going to hold that seat until he dies (and by looking at him, it could be months), and then the seat will be gifted to his daughter. That’s why she’s been sitting forever on the school district board, waiting.

  8. Too bad Grijalva won’t be using his chairmanship for something useful such as, for example, conserving our natural resources.
    His solution to our environmental problems involves opening the border and bringing a hundred million or so more immigrants in. Not sure how that helps, but it seems to be his plan.

  9. Raul Grijalva may drink on occasion and even get “drunk.” But he is earnest and honest in his evaluations, which is more than can be said of too many Trump appointees. And as Churchill may have observed, “In the morning I can sober up -Mr. Zinke- but you will still be an an unethical idiot.” (OK, so I paraphrased Churchill bit .)

    The years so far of Trump have shown that the old saw that the government should be run like a business is a badly construed idea unless practiced by intelligent, honest and aware persons that apply good principles (business or not) in honest and open dealings with their fellow beings and demand the same from their appointed and associated officials.

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