Congressman Ryan Zinke was recommended Tuesday by the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources for confirmation as President Donald Trump’s secretary of Interior.
Responding to the news, Republican Party of the United States Virgin Islands Chairman John Canegata issued the following statement: “I look forward to the full Senate voting to confirm Congressman Zinke as secretary of Interior. Being from Montana — a state with a significant amount of federal land — he understands many of the issues that Virgin Islanders, particularly our fishermen and those living on St. John, face on a daily basis.”
Canegata, Virgin Islands GOP National Committeeman Jevon Williams and National Committeewoman Lilliana Belardo de O’Neal attended Zinke’s confirmation hearing before the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Congresswoman Stacey Plaskett, D-Frederiksted, did not attend.
If confirmed, Zinke would have responsibility for the Virgin Islands and the other U.S. territories.
Zinke was last in the Virgin Islands in November, when the territorial Republican Party hosted him on St. Thomas.
