WASHINGTON, D.C. –  Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke has brushed off criticism over his expensive use of private and military planes for travel, telling conservative supporters that the whole issue is just “a little B.S.”

But several watchdog agencies, congressional Democrats and legal experts believe it’s more than that. After only eight months in office, Zinke’s taxpayer-funded travel, meetings with political donors and other actions have led to several official probes. “We’ve been tracking Zinke and what he’s been doing at the Department of Interior,” says Daniel Stevens, executive director of the nonprofit, nonpartisan Campaign for Accountability. “It led us to...

Tim Keller will be Albuquerque’s next mayor.

Keller won the mayorship in a runoff election Nov. 14, easily defeating Albuquerque City Councilor Dan Lewis.

Also on Nov. 14, Cynthia Borrego won a seat on the city council, defeating Robert Aragon in a runoff election. With the Democrat winning, the party expanded its support on the council.

“Tonight our city has awakened and our city has spoken and we have truly come together,” the Democrat told a crowd of supporters.

Keller said the results showed the city “rejected negative campaigning.”

“And we rejected division,” he said. “We rejected fear. We rejected language that was designed to divide us. And we came together...

The governor is soliciting applications to replace Tim Keller as State Auditor.

Keller was elected mayor of Albuquerque on Nov. 14, and he will be sworn in on Dec. 1.

Once he resigns as State Auditor, Gov. Susana Martinez will be able to appoint a replacement who will serve through the next election in 2018.

Justine Freeman, a spokeswoman for the State Auditor’s Office, said Keller will step down on Nov. 30, before his term as mayor begins. They informed the governor’s office on Nov. 15 and Freeman said they are “ready and willing to assists with the [Office of the State Auditor] transition.”

A spokesman for Martinez said her office is requesting applications from those who...

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) questioned key officials on Nov. 14 during a Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources hearing on the hurricane recovery efforts in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

The hearing included testimony from Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rosselló and U.S. Virgin Islands Gov. Kenneth Mapp, as well as representatives from the U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority, Virgin Islands Water and Power Authority, and the Puerto Rico Energy Commission.

During Heinrich’s questioning, Rosselló framed the disaster as an opportunity to not just restore, but also modernize the...