Zinke Appointed to House Foreign Affairs Committee

Montana Congressman Ryan Zinke was appointed to the House Foreign Affairs Committee. Zinke brings with him military and diplomatic experience from his 23-year career as a U.S. Navy SEAL officer, coupled with time serving as the 52nd Secretary of the Interior, overseeing the Federal relationship with our territories and Freely Associated States. Congressman Zinke will vacate his position on the Science, Space and Technology Committee and remain on the Appropriations Committee and the Joint China Commission.

“I am honored to answer the call to work alongside Chairman McCaul and the rest of the Foreign Affairs Committee to do the increasingly necessary work to keep Americans and our allies safe at a time when every corner of the globe is at or on the precipice of conflict,” said Congressman Zinke. “Under the rudderless direction of the Biden Administration, our enemies don’t fear us, and our allies don’t trust us. Our territories and compact states feel neglected with China breathing down their neck, and the Administration has presented absolutely no actionable plan for Ukraine. I look forward to holding the line and holding the Biden Administration accountable.”

“I’m pleased to welcome Rep. Ryan Zinke to the House Foreign Affairs Committee,” said Chairman McCaul “With his long tenure in the U.S. military, where he served as a U.S. Navy SEAL for more than 20 years, Rep. Zinke will bring valuable experience and knowledge to the committee.”

Ryan Zinke served 23 years as a U.S Navy SEAL Officer including as the Deputy Commander of Joint Special Operations in Iraq and as the Naval Special Warfare liaison to NATO during normalization of military relations with the post-Soviet European states. As Secretary of the Interior, Zinke was the principle Federal official overseeing the U.S. governments relationship with our Pacific territories (Guam and American Samoa) and the Freely Associated States of Palau, the Marshall Islands, and the Federated States of Micronesia – all of which are on the front lines of rising Chinese aggression in the region.

The House Foreign Affairs Full Committee has jurisdiction over legislation and oversight relating to: foreign assistance, national security developments affecting foreign policy, strategic planning and agreements, war powers, treaties, executive agreements and the deployment and use of the United States Armed Forces, peacekeeping, peace enforcement, and the enforcement of UN or other international sanction, arms control and disarmament, the United States Agency for International Development, the Arm Control Act, the Foreign Assistance Act, international law, promotion of democracy, international law enforcement, Broadcasting Board of Governors, embassy security, public diplomacy, the peace corps, and all other matter not specifically assigned to a subcommittee.

PRESS RELEASE PROVIDED BY CONGRESSMAN ZINKE