Ryan Zinke is a fifth generation Montanan who has dedicated his life to serving our great nation and state. Ryan is a decorated U.S. Navy SEAL officer who retired after 23 years of military service. After the military, Ryan served two terms as a Montana State Senator, was twice elected as Montana’s Congressman, and served two years as U.S. Secretary of the Interior. In 2022, Ryan was re-elected to represent Montana’s first congressional district, serving on the House Appropriations and Foreign Affairs Committees, as well as the Joint Commission on China. During his first term back in D.C., he accomplished a lot, but after a disastrous four years of liberal policies under the Biden-Harris Administration, he believes there is more work to do.
In Congress, Ryan will once again be a champion of the issues most important to Montana:
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Low taxes and a strong economy
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Conservation and public access to public lands
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Keeping our promise to our veterans
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Protecting our Second Amendment & individual liberties
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Securing our nation’s border
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American energy independence
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Limited Federal government intervention
- Sovereignty of Montana’s great Tribal Nations
Ryan knows that the problem is not that there’s too much Montana in D.C.; the problem is that there’s too much D.C. in Montana.
Military Service
Ryan’s distinguished military career began in 1985 when he graduated from Officer Candidate School and attended BUDS/SEAL training (class 136). He was first assigned to SEAL Team ONE then was later selected to SEAL Team SIX where he was a Team Leader, Ground Force Commander, Task Force Commander and Current Operations Officer in support of National Command Authority missions.
In Operation IRAQI FREEDOM, Ryan was assigned as Deputy and Acting Commander, Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force-Arabian Peninsula where he led a force of over 3,500 Special Operations personnel in Iraq. In 2006 he was awarded two Bronze Stars for his service.
Throughout his career, Ryan also served as the Special Operations Officer in Europe, and served as the SEAL Commander of Joint Task Force TWO in support of Special Operations missions in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia and Kosovo. Ryan’s final Naval assignment was establishing the Naval Special Warfare Advanced Training Command where he served as “Dean” of the Naval Special Warfare graduate school with a staff of over 250 educators, which provided over 43 college level courses to over 2500 students annually at 15 different locations worldwide. He retired from active duty 2008 after serving 23 years.
State Senate & Congress
In 2008, Ryan was elected to the Montana State Senate, where he chaired the Senate Education Committee and served on the Senate Finance and Claims Committee. As a State Senator he was a leading advocate for strong family values, restoring individual and economic freedoms, energy independence, and helping veterans receive proper care. He was a proud recipient of numerous awards from the Montana Chamber of Commerce and the Rural School Association.
After serving in the State Senate, Ryan was elected twice as Montana’s sole representative in the U.S. House in 2014 and 2016. Following his tenure as Secretary of the Interior, he was re-elected in 2022 and now represents Montana’s first congressional district.
Ryan has been a sturdy voice in Congress, taking on the failed policies of the Biden-Harris Administration. In his two years back in office, he has served on the House Appropriations, Veteran Affairs, and Foreign Affairs Committees, as well as the Joint Commission on China. Ryan introduced the Public Lands in Public Hands Act to prevent the transfer or sale of public lands, secured millions in federal funding for projects in Western Montana, worked to strengthen our southern border, and made sure veterans receive the care and respect they deserve.
Secretary of the Interior
In December 2016, Congressman Zinke was nominated by President Donald J. Trump and later confirmed by a bipartisan vote in the Senate. Ryan Zinke was the first Montanan to serve in a Presidential Cabinet.
As Secretary, Ryan championed restoring the voice of state, tribal and local communities in land and wildlife management decisions, was the principle architect behind the two provisions that became the backbone of the Great American Outdoors Act, and increased public access to millions of acres of public lands for recreation and hunting and fishing. He established wildlife migration corridors which leveraged state and private partnerships and ushered in a new era of forest management and endangered species recovery.
As Secretary, Ryan also protected the Paradise Valley from foreign mining, launched the opioids task force to stop lethal drugs from making their way to Indian Country, and surged law enforcement resources to BLM lands on the southwest border.
Ryan was credited as the driving force behind the United States achieving American energy independence and becoming a net-exporter of energy for the first time in more than 60 years. Former Interior Secretary Don Hodel noted that “Zinke was able to get done what President Reagan and I talked about but were never able to accomplish.”
After 31 years, Ryan decided to leave public service and President Trump reluctantly accepted his resignation in January 2019.
Personal Life
Ryan is a fifth-generation Montanan with deep family roots in Bozeman, Glasgow, Glendive, Whitefish, and Richey and is proudly an adopted member of the Assiniboine Sioux Tribe based in Northeast Montana. Ryan was born in Bozeman and raised in Whitefish on the same property his family has lived for four generations and where he and his wife and oldest son still live today.
In high school, Ryan served as class president and was a multiple sport, All-State standout athlete who earned a place in the Whitefish High School Football Hall of Fame. Growing the talent God gave him in athletics and academics, Ryan earned a scholarship to the University of Oregon. He lettered all four years and graduated with a B.S. in Geology. Ryan received numerous awards to include All-Pacific TEN honors, the Pacific TEN Medal, the University Sahlstrom Award, and the prestigious Emerald Cup for academic, athletic, and leadership excellence. He also holds a Masters in Business Finance from National University and a Masters in Global Leadership from the University of San Diego.
Ryan is married to the former Lolita Hand. They have three children: two sons, Wolfgang and Konrad, a daughter Jennifer, and a happy little dog, Ragnar. Ryan and Lola are the proud grandparents to two granddaughters.
