Politics

After Bashing Trump’s Budget Three Months Ago, Zinke Falls In Line

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Tim Pearce Energy Reporter
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Lawmakers peppered Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke with concerns Thursday over President Donald Trump’s proposed budget for the Department of the Interior.

In a House Appropriations subcommittee hearing, Zinke defended the proposed 13 percent cut to his department from the “flabbergasted” bipartisan subcommittee. Zinke said the cut is a “starting point,” according to The Hill.

“This is what a balanced budget looks like,” Zinke told the subcommittee. “Not all of these decisions we will agree on, but this is what a balanced budget looks like.”

Zinke has evidently changed his perspective on Interior budget cuts. Three months ago, Zinke told agency employees he was “not happy” with early drafts of Trump’s budget request, according to the Washington Examiner.

Zinke’s department was only going to receive a 10 percent cut at the time, according to E&E News.

“I looked at the budget,” Zinke told department employees at the time. “We’re going to fight about it, and I think I’m going to win at the end of the day, and make sure that our values are articulated … and make sure that the administration understands.”

Evidently, Zinke failed to carry out one or more of the promises he made to his staff his second day on the job. The president’s proposed budget cuts the Interior Department’s funding by $300 million more than what was originally reported.

 

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