Here are the top contenders to replace Ryan Zinke as interior secretary

Utah attorney general Sean Reyes was the first ethnic minority to hold statewide office in Utah.

He's known for leading the charge to defend the state's same-sex marriage ban in 2013 despite a federal ruling that deemed it unconstitutional.

Republican and former Navy lieutenant Adam Laxalt is currently serving as attorney general of Nevada. He unsuccessfully ran for governor of the state in 2018.

Laxalt's campaign was mired in drama surrounding his interactions with police. The Reno Gazette Journal reported that Laxalt was previously arrested for allegedly assaulting a police officer.

It was also reported that Laxalt was arrested for driving under the influence in 1997, and racked up eight traffic tickets while living in Virginia and Maryland.

C.L. "Butch" Otter has been governor of Idaho since 2007. He's the longest-serving incumbent governer in the US.

Otter also has experience in Washington, having served as a US representative for Idaho's 1st congressional district from 2001 to 2007.

In the early 1990s, Otter was found guilty of driving under the influence of alcohol while serving as the state's lieutenant governor.

Otter is set to retire as governor in January 2019.

Republican Sen. Dean Heller lost his bid for re-election in November after holding the seat since 2011.

Heller had reportedly angered some GOP voters after refusing to fully support the president's plan to build a wall along the US-Mexico border and criticized Trump's pardon of former Maricopa county Sheriff Joe Arpaio.

Republican Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers has represented Washington state's 5th congressional district since 2005.

She's among the most influential Republican members of Congress, as the only woman in the House GOP leadership.

Republican Scott Walker has served as Wisconsin's governor since 2011.

Walker lost his bid for re-election in November, and has since engaged in a controversial effort to limit the powers of the incoming Democratic governor who defeated him.

The outgoing Wisconsin governor has dismissed the criticism he's faced over these moves as "hype and hysteria."