Interior Secretary Zinke Criticized For Saying A Third Of His Staff Are ‘Not Loyal To The Flag’
- 7 years ago
U.S. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke is under fire for questioning the loyalty of nearly a third of his staff.
U.S. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke is under fire for questioning the loyalty of nearly a third of his staff, reports Washington Examiner.
The controversy began Monday when he told the National Petroleum Council, “I got 30 percent of the crew that’s not loyal to the flag.”
And, according to the Associated Press, or AP, “Zinke compared Interior to a pirate ship that captures ‘a prized ship at sea and only the captain and the first mate row over’ to finish the mission. ‘We do have good people’ at Interior, he said, ‘but the direction has to be clear and you’ve got to hold people accountable.’”
He then talked about plans to shift more of the department’s power structures to areas beyond Washington, D.C., saying, “I really can’t change the culture without changing the structure.”
The Washington Post has called this speech “Zinke’s latest effort to instill fear in his staff.”
He has reportedly indicated his intent to downsize his staff before, and there are questions about whether his agency properly reassigned some employees with the required level of notice and choice.
In response to his latest speech, Washington Senator Maria Cantwell, the ranking Democrat on the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, said his “comments yesterday betray a fundamental misunderstanding of the role of federal civil service.”
“They are non-political employees charged with implementing and enforcing laws passed by Congress and have incredible domain expertise in their areas of responsibility," she added.
U.S. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke is under fire for questioning the loyalty of nearly a third of his staff, reports Washington Examiner.
The controversy began Monday when he told the National Petroleum Council, “I got 30 percent of the crew that’s not loyal to the flag.”
And, according to the Associated Press, or AP, “Zinke compared Interior to a pirate ship that captures ‘a prized ship at sea and only the captain and the first mate row over’ to finish the mission. ‘We do have good people’ at Interior, he said, ‘but the direction has to be clear and you’ve got to hold people accountable.’”
He then talked about plans to shift more of the department’s power structures to areas beyond Washington, D.C., saying, “I really can’t change the culture without changing the structure.”
The Washington Post has called this speech “Zinke’s latest effort to instill fear in his staff.”
He has reportedly indicated his intent to downsize his staff before, and there are questions about whether his agency properly reassigned some employees with the required level of notice and choice.
In response to his latest speech, Washington Senator Maria Cantwell, the ranking Democrat on the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, said his “comments yesterday betray a fundamental misunderstanding of the role of federal civil service.”
“They are non-political employees charged with implementing and enforcing laws passed by Congress and have incredible domain expertise in their areas of responsibility," she added.