Trump to pick Rep. Zinke, ex-SEAL, as Interior secretary

U.S. Representative Ryan Zinke (R-MT) arrives for a meeting with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump at Trump Tower in Manhattan, New York City, U.S., December 12, 2016. (REUTERS)

President-elect Donald Trump intends to pick Montana Republican Rep. Ryan Zinke as secretary of the Interior, multiple sources confirmed Tuesday evening to Fox News.

Zinke is a first-term House member and a former Navy SEAL commander. 

Neither the Trump transition team nor Zinke has made a public statement. But Zinke reportedly has accepted the offer.

He was purportedly in the running with Washington Rep. Kathy McMorris Rogers, who met at least twice with Trump, a fellow Republican, in recent days.

McMorris Rogers has made no official statement either. But she posted a message late Tuesday on her Facebook page that suggested she will remain on Capitol Hill as part of House Speaker Paul Ryan’s leadership team.

“It was an honor to be invited to spend time with the President-elect, and I’m energized more than ever to continue leading in Congress as we think big, reimagine this government, and put people back at the center of it,” McMorris Rogers wrote.

Zinke was an early Trump supporter and serves on the House’s Natural Resources Committee. He met Monday with Trump in New York.