Ryan Zinke Humbly Responds to Critical Op-Ed By Calling Congressman a Big Old Drunk

Some people respond to thoughtful, well-reasoned criticism by taking it in the spirit in which it was given, and really internalizing its message in the hopes of someday becoming a better person. Others—and I’m talking specifically about Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke here—respond by calling people belligerent drunks.

On Friday, USA Today published an opinion piece by Rep. Raúl Grijalva, the top ranking Democrat on the House Natural Resources Committee, in which he called on Zinke to resign for his various “scandals and nepotism.” An excerpt:

While a referral to Justice should not be taken lightly, the case against Mr. Zinke ultimately rests on much more fundamental grounds. Beyond his personal foibles, he has overseen the degradation of his department’s senior work force in the name of enforcing “loyalty” to himself and the Trump administration; announced his intention tocut thousands of permanent positions; prompted mass resignations from a nonpartisan National Park Service advisory board by refusing to meet with members; and tied his own employees and aides in knots to make himself and his wife more financially comfortable.

Zinke—a dark horse candidate for the Trump administration’s dumbest, most corrupt kiss ass—was none too happy.

Some background: In 2017, Grijalva was accused by the conservative Washington Times newspaper of paying a former committee staffer $48,000 in severance stemming from her claim that he’d created a hostile work environment due to alcohol abuse. He rejected those allegations, and claimed she had been fired for unrelated issues. He was never sued by the staffer, but has not offered more details about why the staffer was fired in the first place, citing confidentiality rules barring him from speaking more about the incident.

So, in a response that would make the old man (Trump) proud, Zinke chose to bring this up in response to allegations from Grijalva that he’s too corrupt to remain in his job anymore. Regardless of the congressman’s criticism, however, Zinke was reportedly referred to the Department of Justice for investigations into his conduct last month. Oops.