Ex-Trump Official Caught Listing Montana Hotel As His Residence In Order To Run For Congress There

Republican Ryan Zinke, the former United States Secretary of the Interior under former President Donald Trump, is facing criticism after he was caught listing a hotel as his Montana address while running for Congress.

The information came out after Tom Winter, Zinke's Democratic opponent, decided to see if Zinke's address checked out only to discover the "residence" is in fact a hotel.

In a tweet, Winter referred to Zinke as the "most corrupt politician of my lifetime."

This is not the first time Zinke's candidacy has courted controversy: Last month it emerged that he spends most of his time in Santa Barbara, California living on his wife's watch.

The latest discovery has drawn the ire of social media users who criticized Zinke and have urged Montanans to vote for his opponent.

Zinke's candidacy marks his attempt at a comeback after resigning from the Trump administration in disgrace after his expenditures, which included expensive flights, attracted the attention of congressional watchdog groups and were referred to the Interior Department's Office of Inspector General.

The investigation into Zinke was later referred to the Department of Justice (DOJ). Amid the scandal, Zinke chose to turn in his resignation.

At the time of his departure from office, he was the subject of a federal probe into a "Montana land deal" between a foundation Zinke created and the chairman of Halliburton, one of the world's largest oil field service companies.

As Secretary of the Interior, Zinke oversaw reversals of Obama-era decisions, including a proposed regulation to lift National Park Service hunting restrictions established during the Obama administration to allow hunters to kill black bears and wolves in national preserves in Alaska.

Former President Trump weathered heavy criticisms from environmentalist groups after he empowered Zinke to review any national monument created since Jan. 1, 1996.

The sweeping review was widely condemned, and environmentalists charged that it was little more than a ploy to cater to fossil fuel interests, energy companies, and real estate developers.