Rep. Ryan Zinke

Congressman Ryan Zinke serves as Representative for Montana’s First Congressional District covering 16 counties in western Montana. First elected to Congress in 2014, and serving as U.S. Secretary of the Interior between noncontiguous terms, Zinke has built a track record of accomplishments in energy, conservation, tribal and military issues. Now in his third term, Zinke is a member of the House Committee on Appropriations, the U.S. Joint Commission on China, and the Science, Space, and Technology Committee.

He was recruited to join the U.S. Navy SEALs in 1985 where he went on dozens of deployments targeting terrorist cells in Asia, war criminals in the Baltics, and combating the rise of radical Islamic terrorists in the middle east. During his military career he held a number of leadership positions including as Ground Forces and Task Force commander at SEAL Teams SIX oversaw the U.S. Navy SEAL BUD/S training after 9/11, and was Deputy/Acting Commander of Joint Special Forces during the Iraq war. In 2006 he was awarded the Bronze Star for his service. Commander Zinke retired from active duty in 2008 after serving for 23 years.