Gov. Mead on turning down Trump job: 'I made the right choice'

Wyoming Gov. Matt Mead said he has no regrets about withdrawing his name from consideration for Interior Secretary in the Trump administration last year.

In an interview with the Star-Tribune, Mead said that in addition to a number of standard considerations, such as not wanting to relocate his family to Washington, D.C., he was also concerned about handling potential policy differences with President Donald Trump.

“I have some disagreements with President Trump and I’m sure in Interior ... I would feel strongly about certain areas and I don’t know how — trying to watch it from afar — how that works out when those disagreements come up,” Mead said.

Mead, a Republican, broke with Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke’s comments on sage grouse protections last week. Mead said that science, not politics, needed to lead federal policy and that Zinke’s focus on sage grouse population targets — rather than on maintaining habitat for the vulnerable bird species — was worrisome.

Read more: http://trib.com/news/state-and-regional/govt-and-politics/mead-on-turning-down-trump-job-i-made-the-right/article_31c3e807-acdc-5efb-b0c9-84cc20677856.html