page_title: Ryan Zinke
section_title: Flying of Secretarial flag
hierarchical_section_title: Ryan Zinke / Secretary of the Interior (2017–2019) / Flying of Secretarial flag
context_page_description: Ryan Keith Zinke is an American politician and businessman who served as United States Secretary of the Interior in the Trump Administration from 2017 until his resignation in 2019. He previously served as the U.S. Representative for Montana's at-large congressional district from 2015 to 2017. From 2009 to 2013, he served as a member of the Montana Senate, representing the 2nd district.
  Zinke played college football at the University of Oregon and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in geology. He also has a Master of Business Administration and a Master of Science in global leadership. He was a U.S. Navy SEAL from 1986 until 2008, retiring with the rank of commander. The first Navy SEAL to be elected to the United States House of Representatives, Zinke formerly served as a member on the Natural Resources Committee and the Armed Services Committee. As a member of Congress, Zinke supported the use of ground troops in the Middle East to combat ISIS and opposed the Affordable Care Act, various environmental regulations, and the transfer of federal lands to individual states.
  Zinke was appointed as United States Secretary of the Interior by President Donald Trump.
context_section_description: Assuming his duties as Interior Secretary, Zinke ordered Interior Department civil servants to fly his official Secretarial Flag over the Main Interior Building whenever he was present in the building, and that of his Deputy, David Bernhardt, whenever Zinke was away and Bernhardt the highest-ranking official present. According to the Washington Post, "no one can remember [the flag ritual] ever happening in the federal government."
caption: The Flag of the Secretary of the Interior