Donald Trump's pick for secretary of the interior, Rep. Ryan Zinke, R-Mont., committed travel fraud while he was a member of SEAL Team 6, The Intercept reported today.
Zinke, the former Navy officer who was tapped for the Cabinet position on Dec. 13, reportedly traveled to his home state of Montana multiple times in the late '90s for home renovations, while claiming the trips were for official business.
This sort of trouble isn't new to the SEAL community, however. In May 2015, Military Times reported that a SEAL used a Department of Defense's credit card to visit strip clubs, indulging in more than $1,000 of adult entertainment over 17 days of travel.
That was part of a broader DoD Inspector General's investigation that uncovered more than $1 million spent at casinos and strip clubs in a single year — all on DoD credit cards.
In September 2016, a top Navy SEAL, Rear Adm. Brian Losey, was under intense criticism by the DoD IG for allegations of misconduct that included mishandling of travel expenses. As a result, Losey lost his career and began a political firestorm within Congress for the handling of the investigation.
