Disgraced ex-Interior secretary takes $100,000-a-year job with gold mine that has business before the agency

On Tuesday, CBS reported that Ryan Zinke, President Donald Trump's disgraced former Secretary of the Interior, has taken a $100,000-a-year-job with the U.S. Gold Corp, a Nevada-based mining company that is pursuing federal projects that require approval from the Interior Department.

Zinke denies there is any conflict of interest, telling the Associated Press that his role at U.S. Gold will not involve lobbying. However, this conflicts with the CEO's hiring announcement, which cited Zinke's "excellent relationship" with the Interior Department and the Bureau of Land Management.

Shares of U.S. Gold rose 3 percent on the news of the hire.

Zinke, a former congressman from Montana, experienced a turbulent tenure at the Interior Department, leaving office amid 18 federal investigations into his use of taxpayer money, potential abuses of power, financial conflicts, and retaliation against agency whistleblowers.

He has been replaced with former oil lobbyist David Bernhardt, who is now facing investigations himself.