GOP lawmaker rips Trump, Zinke: ‘Self-serving’ to exempt Florida from drilling

A South Carolina Republican on Wednesday slammed a decision by the Trump administration to exempt Florida from proposed offshore drilling as “self-serving” because President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort is in the state.

“I would also say this, it smacks of what we never want to see in politics, which is, is it only self-serving?” Rep. Mark Sanford (R-S.C.) told “CNN Newsroom with Brooke Baldwin.” 

{mosads}“I mean, you can’t say ‘I don’t want to see an oil rig from Mar-a-Lago as I look out from the waters of Palm Beach, but it’s okay to look at an oil rig out from Hilton Head of Charleston, S.C.’ ”

Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke announced Tuesday that Florida would be exempt from consideration, citing the state’s reliance on tourism. 

Sanford, who represents South Carolina’s 1st Congressional District and previously served as its governor, argued that tourism is also significant for the Palmetto State.

“The president ran on the idea of draining the swamp: no more politics as usual. If this is not a sign of politics as usual, I don’t know what is,” Sanford told CNN.

South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster (R) is reportedly also requesting an exemption for his state, as is New York Governor Andrew Cuomo (D) and California Attorney General Xavier Becerra (D).