Ryan Zinke and his wife Lola are spending a lot of time at the Department of the Interior scheduling VIP tours for their friends according to a recent report by the Washington Post.
And while almost all administrations take advantage of the perks that come with working for and with the National Park Service, it seems as though the Zinke’s are taking the practice to the next level.
Despite there being a multi billion dollar maintenance backlog and a dire shortage of high level employees, the Zinke’s have repeatedly gone out of their way to schedule tours for friends– sometimes at the expense of the taxpayer. Needless to say, the optics aren’t great.
One of those friends included a Yacht broker who has previously sold a boat to Lola Zinke. He accompanied the Secretary on a trip to the Channel Islands off the coast of California. The reason for his tagging along? To “offer personal testimony to help the Secretary understand issues facing the islands.” Others have been given tours of the White House’s West Wing, the Lincoln Memorial, and Joshua Tree National Park.
Find the entire Washington Post report here: A perk for friends of the Zinkes: Guided tours through National Park Service sites