The Interior Department inspector general announced on Friday that they would investigate an alleged threat that came from the agency's head, Ryan Zinke, against Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski's state of Alaska last week over her nay vote on Republican attempts to repeal Obamacare, according to Reuters.

Zinke called Murkowski and Alaska's other Republican Senator Dan Sullivan on July 26, the day after Murkowski's crucial vote against a motion to begin debate on the health care legislation overhaul, the Alaska Dispatch News reported.

The interior secretary said that Murkowski's vote could have negative repercussions for energy and land use in Alaska, the newspaper wrote.

Murkowski spokeswoman Karina Peterson confirmed that Zinke had called the senator.

The Interior Department handles policy for the United States that is crucial to the Alaskan economy like drilling and mining on federal and tribal land along with control of wildlife areas.

The inspector general's office sent a letter to Democratic U.S. Representatives Frank Pallone and Raul Grijalva, the leading Democrats on the House committees on energy and natural resources, respectively, on Thursday evening, to say that they would begin a preliminary investigation into the threat.

Both representatives had contacted the inspector general's office and the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to begin an investigation after reports of the phone call came out last week.

Zinke's office and the GAO did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Zinke cast a no vote on July 25, joined by Republican Senator Susan Collins of Maine, which led to Vice President Mike Pence casting a tiebreaker vote to pass the motion by 51-50.





Later efforts in the Senate to repeal the Affordable Care Act fell apart last Friday after Murkowski and Collins were joined by Senator John McCain of Arizona to team up with Democratic and independent Senate members in voting against the "skinny repeal" that would have eliminated specific portions of the Obamacare.

Murkowski chairs the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, which oversees appropriations and appointee confirmations for Zinke's agency.

The interior secretary spoke on Thursday to say that he and Murkowski had reconciled, posting a photograph of him drinking an Alaskan beer with the senator on Twitter.

"I say dinner, she says brews. My friends know me well," he tweeted.

-WN.com, Maureen Foody