This administration has hardly kept its pro-polluter positions secret. But on Monday the pretense of working for Americans instead industry slipped even further: Ryan Zinke and Rick Perry showed some of their pro-polluter cards during a talk National Petroleum Council.
Perry, who like all government employees swore an oath to uphold the Constitution, told a protester he still considers himself “proud to be part” of the fossil fuel industry. To us, it seemed as if Perry was dancing to the tune of Alex Epstein, the guy who makes a living giving the fossil fuel industry the pep talks it wants to hear. According to Perry, the fossil fuel industry “is leading the world in affecting the climate and affecting the climate in a positive way"-- a talking point cribbed right from Epstein’s playbook. Surprisingly, Perry’s insane comment is true if you happen to be one of the very few countries who benefit from warming. (We’re looking at you, Russia.)
But Perry’s fossil fuel fandom was tame compared to Zinke, who went so far as to accuse Department of Interior staff of not being loyal to their country. Zinke described how he felt he was entering hostile territory when assuming control of Interior. "I got 30 percent of the crew that's not loyal to the flag," told the assembled oilmen. (The next day, long-time Trump friend Roger Stone denied to the House Intelligence Committee that he played a role in Russia’s efforts to help elect the man who appointed Zinke to his this position.)
According to Zinke, his takeover of the Department of Interior is like "a prized ship at sea and only the captain and the first mate row over." This certainly makes it sound like Zinke is disappointed that more staffers weren’t as eager as he is to sell out American lands to fossil fuel interests. Given that their oath, like his, is to the Constitution and not a flag or any particular president, Zinke’s comments seem like more of an accidental confession of rank political fealty on his part, rather than an indictment of the Interior staff.
But these are just words. What matters are the actions being taken. And on that count, Zinke is walking the walk. The LA Times ran a story Tuesday from reporter Evan Halper on how career staffers with expertise and scientific understanding of the issues are being sidelined at various agencies, but particularly at Interior. As Senator Maria Cantwell (D-Wash) told Halper, “They are basically getting rid of the people who know the law and tell them ‘you can’t do that.’”
Because of Zinke’s questionable shuffling of staffers like Joel Clement, DoI’s Inspector General is investigating whether the moves violate Nixon-era protections for career staffers against political retaliation.
We’re not sure that Zinke’s accusation of staffer disloyalty is evidence enough of political retaliation, but no doubt the IG will take it into consideration. Though since Zinke’s metaphor paints a picture of Trump’s election as a hostile takeover of an American vessel, the flag to which he suggests staffers are disloyal may not be the stars and stripes, but rather the skull and crossbones of a pirate’s Jolly Roger.
So the real question isn’t whether civil servants are loyal to the United States, because their record of work on the public’s behalf is indicative of their dedication. Given everything we know and the rest we can suspect, we’d question instead under which flag the Trump administration’s loyalty lies.
Not that we’re russian to judgment...
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