Rep. Ryan Zinke, the Montana Republican who served as Interior secretary during the first Trump administration, is retiring after two stints in the House. Zinke, the first Navy SEAL elected to Congress, said he’s undergone multiple surgeries in recent years related to his military service. “The injuries sustained from a career in Special Operations are not immediately life threatening, but the repair cannot be deferred any longer and recovery will require considerable time with my wife Lola and my family,” Zinke, 64, said in a statement Monday. Zinke’s decision to leave the chamber after his term ends, rather than sooner, will likely soothe House Republican leaders, who are already grappling with a razor-thin majority. “My judgement and experience tell me it is better for Montana and America to have full-time representation in Congress than run the risk of uncertain absence and missed votes,” he said. Zinke is the latest House Republican to opt against running for reelection, a sign of a midterm election dynamic increasingly viewed as unfavorable to the GOP. He represents the 1st District, a broad swath of western Montana that includes the cities of Bozeman and Missoula. Democrats view the seat as competitive and last month, the party included it on a list of “Districts in Play.” Zinke’s decision “is the latest proof point that the Republican rank and file know their majority is doomed,” Lindsay Reilly, spokesperson for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, said in a statement. Four Democrats are running: former gun industry executive Ryan Busse, rancher and West Point graduate Matt Rains, smokejumper Sam Forstag and small-business owner and rancher Russ Cleveland. On Tuesday, hours after Zinke’s announcement, Republican radio host and veteran Aaron Flint announced he would seek the seat. “When our country needed him after the September 11th terrorist attacks, Aaron raised his hand to serve,” Zinke said in a social media post. “Now when Montana needs him again, he’s ready to serve. He has my complete and total endorsement!” Zinke was first elected in 2014 to the state's then-at large seat and left early in his second term to become Interior secretary, where he supported policies expanding oil and gas leasing on federal lands and waters while reversing environmental regulations to combat climate change. Zinke resigned the post in 2019 after being also dogged during his two-year tenure by allegations of wrongdoing, much of which the department’s inspector general documented. In an August 2022 report, for example, investigators found that Zinke and his chief of staff made statements that presented an “inaccurate version of the circumstances in which the DOI made key decisions,” leading the office to determine that Zinke “did not comply with their duty of candor.” Investigators noted in the report that they had given their findings to the Justice Department in 2018, but the agency declined prosecution in the matter in summer 2021. He successfully ran for the House in 2022 in the 1st District, winning by just over 3 points. He defended the seat in 2024, winning by nearly 8 points.
