Gov. Butch Otter and Rep. Raul Labrador are floated for US secretary of interior — again

BOISE (Idaho Statesman) — Like clockwork, whenever the U.S. Department of Interior’s top position opens up, names of Idaho politicians surface as potential nominees.

This isn’t without reason.

Typically the secretary of interior position is filled by someone from the West, which is home to the majority of federally owned land the agency oversees.

Additionally, Idaho has fielded two secretaries of interior: Democrat Cecil Andrus held the position from 1977 to 1981, serving under President Jimmy Carter; Republican Dirk Kempthorne held the position from 2006 to 2009, serving under President George W. Bush.

With the news of Secretary of Interior Ryan Zinke’s departure at the end of the year, both outgoing Gov. Butch Otter and outgoing U.S. Rep. Raul Labrador appeared in national news reports over the weekend naming potential nominees. None of the reporting named the sources of this information.

Both Otter and Labrador were considered for the post by President Donald Trump in 2016 — the nomination went to Zinke of Montana.

The Associated Press reported Labrador planned to go to the White House on Saturday to discuss the job with officials, according to a “GOP congressional aide who spoke on condition of anonymity.”

Trump announced via Twitter on Dec. 15 that he will announce a new secretary of interior this week.

Secretary of the Interior @RyanZinke will be leaving the Administration at the end of the year after having served for a period of almost two years. Ryan has accomplished much during his tenure and I want to thank him for his service to our Nation…….

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 15, 2018

…….The Trump Administration will be announcing the new Secretary of the Interior next week.

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 15, 2018

“There is nothing I can say about the rumors going around regarding the governor and the position at Department of Interior,” Otter spokesman Jon Hanian told the Statesman on Monday.

Labrador’s office did not immediately respond to the Statesman’s query.

If Labrador is a serious contender, Trump would need to forgive and forget previous comments of Labrador’s about the president.

Last month the New York Times reported Gov.-elect Brad Little’s campaign had thwarted an effort by Labrador, who was challenging Little in the May GOP gubernatorial primary, to get Trump’s endorsement.

“When a group of lawmakers and White House aides lobbied Mr. Trump to endorse Representative Raul Labrador, a hard-liner running for governor in Idaho, supporters of a competing candidate, Lt. Gov. Brad Little, sprang into action. They assembled footage of Mr. Labrador criticizing Mr. Trump during the 2016 primary, when he was backing Senator Ted Cruz, and steered it to the West Wing,” the New York Times reported Nov. 7. “The endorsement was off. The day after Idaho’s primary, Mr. Trump phoned the triumphant Mr. Little and, unaware of the tape’s genesis, asked: ‘Did you see that video?’”

This article was originally published in the Idaho Statesman. It is used here with permission.