Ryan Zinke, a Montana Republican who served as Interior secretary during Donald Trump’s first administration, said he would not seek reelection to a fifth term in the U.S. House of Representatives, citing health concerns.
The decision gives Democrats a long shot at winning a House seat in a state that has drifted to the right politically over the past decade.
Zinke, a former Navy Seal, said in a letter to his constituents that he had undergone multiple surgeries in recent years and faces more medical procedures for injuries suffered during his time in the military.
He said his condition, which he did not specify, was not life-threatening but required considerable time to recover.
“My judgment and experience tell me that it is better for Montana and the United States to have full-time representation in Congress than to risk uncertain absences and lost votes,” he wrote.
After four years in the Montana legislature, Zinke was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2014. He was appointed Trump’s Interior secretary in 2017, but resigned in 2018 amid numerous ethics investigations. His political career rebounded in 2022, when Zinke narrowly won a newly created congressional district in western Montana. He won again in 2024 by a comfortable margin.
Several Democrats had already lined up hoping to challenge Zinke in the November election, including former gubernatorial candidate Ryan Busse and union organizer Sam Forstag.
Gov. Greg Gianforte said in a statement that Zinke had been a “Montana champion,” first as a Seal and then in politics. Gianforte won a special House election to fill Zinke’s seat after the Republican joined Trump’s Cabinet.
During his time at the Department of the Interior, Zinke worked to promote Trump’s “drill, baby, drill” agenda and increase oil and gas extraction from government lands.
He also advocated for conservation and last year led efforts to remove potential public land sales from a Republican budget proposal, opposing some members of his own party.
