Zinke Releases Statement Opposing FAST-41 process for the Sheep Creek Mine in Ravalli County

“Montana knows better than anyone there’s a right and wrong way to mine. Fast tracking a mine with overwhelming public opposition and bypassing the mechanisms that allow for transparency and accountability is the wrong way to do it. Ravalli County officials and residents have been clear in their concerns and opposition to this project. It has fallen on deaf ears and they have received no communication from the company. I urge the council to remove Sheep Creek from the FAST 41 process."

Read the full press release here.

60 Minutes: Inside Montana's fight to block the sale of federally owned land

Excerpt from "Why Montana fought to protect federal public lands and what's at stake if they were sold off" - CBS “60 Minutes”

By Jon Wertheim, David M. Levine
Aired November 23, 2025

Zinke grew up in Whitefish, Montana and served as a secretary of the interior during President Trump's first term. Now, he represents western Montana in the house. He called the land sale proposal his San Juan Hill, a nod to Teddy Roosevelt, noted conservationist… Rough translation: over my dead body.

Rep. Ryan Zinke: Public lands is not, to me, on a balance sheet. Public lands is our inheritance- of this great nation. And we're blessed with it. There is no other country on the face of the planet that has the public land experience that we do.
 
On this issue, Zinke's no ideologue. On a case-by-case basis, within the existing laws, he says he's open to rethinking public land use. What he does oppose: wholesale selloff.
 
Rep. Ryan Zinke: You could sell the entirety of the federal estate, it's not gonna get you out of debt.
 
Rep. Ryan Zinke: If you have a hotel, and the hotel is being mismanaged, you don't sell the hotel. You get new management. And then if you sell the public land, you sell it all, right? Have you changed why you're in debt? No, you've just sold your assets. 
 
Jon Wertheim: People supporting this say, "What's the harm of unlocking some of this so we can build affordable housing?" Why-- why are those people wrong?
 
Rep. Ryan Zinke: If we wanna discuss, you know, reality-- you know, selling all our public land for housing one it doesn't-- won't solve the housing crisis. And secondly-- you know, public land itself… if it's managed well, you should be able to bring timber off of it. You should be able to graze. Energy-- oil, coal, gas, all-- a lot of that comes from our public lands.

Zinke was instrumental in getting the land sale proposal killed in the House. He then coordinated with his colleagues in the Senate, where Mike Lee had crafted a special carve out exempting Montana. But that didn't win over the state's delegation. The measure was abandoned.
 
In a statement to "60 Minutes," Sen. Lee said in part, quote, "the federal government controls more land than it can manage, hurting the growth and prosperity of American families and their communities."

Perhaps more than any other state, Montana stood in the breach, thwarting the sale efforts, though there is widespread expectation public land sales will come up again in Congress.
 
Jon Wertheim: This is an era where party unity in-- in the Republican party is strong. You-- you went against the grain here. You stuck your neck out.
 
Rep. Ryan Zinke: It's a red, white, and blue issue. It's not a Democrat or Republican issue. This is an American issue. And once you sell land, you're not gonna get it back.

Watch the full episode here.

Read the full transcript of the episode here.

Trump Implements Zinke Plan to Make Foreign Tourists Pay Fair Share at National Parks

Congressman Ryan Zinke and Congressman Riley M. Moore (WV-02) applauded the Trump Administration’s decision to secure the future of America’s national parks through a new fee structure that ensures international visitors are paying their fair share to keep our national heritage beautiful. The recent policy, issued by Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, establishes an Annual Pass that will cost $80 for U.S. residents and $250 for nonresidents and will apply an additional $100 surcharge per foreign visitor to enter 11 of the most visited national parks while keeping the entrance fee for Americans the same.

The National Parks system faces a $23 billion deferred maintenance backlog. This America-First policy will ensure our children and grandchildren can enjoy our great natural heritage for years to come, beautify our National Parks, and secure funding to address our critical maintenance backlog. 

Congressman Zinke and Congressman Moore issued the following joint statement:

“President Trump and Secretary Burgum are putting Americans first by asking foreign visitors to pay their fair share while holding entrance fees steady for the American people. This policy ensures that our beautiful national heritage is preserved and the critical maintenance backlog is addressed so that America’s national parks will remain affordable, well-maintained, and financially sustainable for generations to come. We owe it to future generations of Americans - our children and grandchildren - to ensure our beautiful natural heritage that God created is well preserved.

Now, Congress must act to codify this America-First fee structure by passing our bill, The PATRIOT Parks Act. Our legislation is essential to guaranteeing that these reforms remain in place for generations to come, and that Americans are put First in our own parks.”

Read the full press release here.

Veteran Lawmakers Introduce Resolution Condemning Democrat Lawmakers’ Reckless Call for Military Disobedience

Congressman and former Navy SEAL Commander Ryan Zinke and Representative and former Army Sergeant Rick Crawford (AR-01) along with 16 other veteran lawmakers introduced a resolution condemning Senators Mark Kelly (D-AZ) and Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) and Representatives Jason Crow (CO-06), Christopher Deluzio (PA-17), Maggie Goodlander (NH-01), and Chrissy Houlahan (PA-06) for publicly urging members of the United States military and intelligence community to independently judge and refuse orders from the Commander in Chief, an action that risks violating the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) and undermining national security.

On November 18, 2025, the six Members of Congress released a video accusing the Trump Administration of “pitting” the military and intelligence community against American citizens. They urged servicemembers and intelligence professionals to independently judge the legality of presidential orders and pledged to “have their backs” if they refuse to follow directives they personally deem “illegal.” When later pressed for evidence of any unlawful orders, Senator Slotkin admitted she was “not aware of things [orders] that are illegal,” and others offered no proof to support their claims. 

The resolution states:

Denouncing dangerous and seditious rhetoric by Members of Congress and expressing condemnation of Senator Mark Kelly, Senator Elissa Slotkin, Representative Jason Crow, Representative Christopher Deluzio, Representative Maggie Goodlander, and Representative Chrissy Houlahan for attempting to sow disallegiance amongst members of the United States military and intelligence community and encouraging them to act against the Commander in Chief and President of the United States and violate the Uniform Code of Military Justice.

It continues:

Whereas Congress, which holds the power to declare war, was so concerned that the chain of command could be undermined by individuals encouraging disloyalty by members of the military that it made it a Federal crime to advise, counsel, urge, or in any manner cause or attempt to cause insubordination, disloyalty, mutiny, or refusal of duty by any member of the military; 

Whereas, in a video posted on November 18, 2025, and widely disseminated across social media and the news, the aforementioned Members of Congress urged the military and intelligence communities to defy ‘‘illegal’’ orders, insinuating, without evidence, that the administration has been issuing these types of orders;

Whereas UCMJ case law has held that orders are presumed lawful, outside of those obviously unlawful, and are ‘‘disobeyed at the peril of the subordinate’’, without consideration to the ‘‘person’s conscience, religion, or personal philosophy’’;

If adopted the House of Representatives would hold that it…

“…denounces the dangerous and seditious rhetoric spewing from these six Members of Congress that has led to an environment placing troops and their loved ones at risk of harm, compromising and undermining the national security of the United States and the peaceful coexistence and respect deserved by our brave men and women serving in the military and the intelligence community.”

Read the full resolution here.

Read the full press release here.

• Veteran Lawmakers Introduce Resolution Condemning Democrat Lawmakers’ Reckless Call for Military Disobedience
• Zinke, Sheehy Statements on Proposed Sheep Creek Mine
• Reps. Zinke and Moore Praise the Trump Administration’s Decision to Make Our National Parks Beautiful Again
• ICYMI: 60 Minutes - “He (Zinke) called the land sale proposal his San Juan Hill, a nod to Teddy Roosevelt, noted conservationist… Rough translation: over my dead body.”

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