Donald Trump Jr. interviewed likely Interior Department pick Zinke for the post

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President-elect Donald Trump has reportedly selected first-term Montana representative Ryan Zinke to lead the U.S. Interior Department
Riding herd on the selection process was Donald Trump, Jr., an avid hunter who said he understands outdoor issues
Trump's oldest son fielded phone calls and sat in on candidate interviews
He is also expected to take over the Trump Organization along with brother Eric if and when Trump steps back from the business
Interior is the nation's largest landowner – managing natural resources like oil and gas, overseeing recreation areas, and dealing with Native American and environmental issues
Zinke spent two decades as a Navy Seal

By Geoff Earle, Deputy U.s. Political Editor For Dailymail.com

Published: 17:41 EST, 14 December 2016 | Updated: 00:16 EST, 15 December 2016

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Donald Trump Jr. helped steer the process that resulted in the selection of Rep. Ryan Zinke as President-elect Donald Trump's choice to run the Interior Department, the Trump transition confirmed Wednesday.

The eldest Trump child, who has a formal role in the Trump transition, took part in interviews and phone calls with potential candidates, Politico reported Wednesday.

The Trump transition didn't dispute his involvement, even as Trump and his brother Eric Trump are set to assume a new role running the Trump business organization when their father takes office as president.

'I would say that the transition team has been very transparent in the fact that Donald Trump, Jr. is on the transition team, that he is someone who is helping us on this government, put things together,' said transition spokesman Jason Miller.

Donald Trump Jr. helped vet candidates to be the new Interior Department secretary. He also met with tech executives at Trump Tower on Wednesday

'We've announced that right from the beginning,' he continued, when asked about the dual roles on a conference call with reporters. 'And so, it only makes sense if a transition team member was active in the process.'

Trump and Zinke share at least one thing in common: both love hunting and the outdoors. Trump has posted images of many of his most impressive kills, and Zinke, 55, is a hunter and fisherman who has showed off hunting knives from his collection of blades.

Zinke also spent two decades as a Navy Seal, studied geology, and sits on the House Natural Resources Committee. Like many previous nominees for the agency, he hails from a western state where federal lands are a major economic and cultural issue.

STRAIGHT SHOOTER: Donald Trump Jr. is an avid hunter, and joked that Interior would be the agency he would most like to run

MAKING THE CUT: Zinke, displaying one of the knives in his collection, advanced through a process that Donald Trump Jr. helped guide

SEAL OF APPROVAL: Zinke spent two decades as a member of the Navy SEALs, and is expected to get the official nomination to run the Interior Department

Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump, and Ivanka Trump sat in on a meeting President-elect Trump held with tech leaders Wednesday

NEIGH, DON'T SHOOT!: One of the issues Zenke will have to confront if confirmed is controversy over thousands of wild horses that the Bureau of Land Management holds in pens to prevent them from ravaging federal lands

Interior is the nation's largest landowner. Although it maintains multiple recreation areas, it also controls vast oil and gas resources, leases land to ranchers for grazing, and interfaces with Native American tribes through the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

Trump joked about his own interest in the job in an interview with the publication Wide Open Spaces in November.

'The big joke at Christmas this year was the only job in government that I would want is with the Department of Interior,' he said. 'I understand those issues. It's something I'm passionate about. I will be the very loud voice about these issues in my father's ear. No one gets it more than us.'

Former ambassador to the Czech Republic Norm Eisen told a forum of House Oversight Committee Democrats Wednesday that he finds the role of Trump's children concerning.

'They’re on the board of the transition, they’ve been in meetings,' he said. 'What on earth are they thinking?'

'I saw this as an ambassador and I’m so sad that it’s come to my own country,' he continued, referencing 'princelings' in China. 'The kids are used [in other countries] as a vehicle, a conduit to influence the parents all over the world.'

Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump, and Ivanka Trump all were present when their father met with top tech executives at Trump Tower on Wednesday.