President-elect Donald Trump on Monday tapped former representative Lee Zeldin of New York to serve as Environmental Protection Agency administrator, a crucial role that will oversee the rollbacks of dozens of President Joe Biden’s environmental policies.
“Lee, with a very strong legal background, has been a true fighter for America First policies,” Trump said in a statement Monday. “He will ensure fair and swift deregulatory decisions that will be enacted in a way to unleash the power of American businesses, while at the same time maintaining the highest environmental standards.”
Former Rep. Lee Zeldin, R-N.Y., speaks at a rally in Concord, N.H., on Jan. 19. Matt Rourke/Associated Press, file
Republican Zeldin, 44, served four terms representing Long Island before losing the New York governor’s race to Democratic rival Kathy Hochul in 2022. A lawyer by trade, he lacks an extensive background in environmental policy. The New York Post first reported his selection as EPA administrator.
“It is an honor to join President Trump’s Cabinet as EPA Administrator,” Zeldin posted on X on Monday. “We will restore US energy dominance, revitalize our auto industry to bring back American jobs, and make the US the global leader of AI. We will do so while protecting access to clean air and water.”
Zeldin appeared on the Fox News show “The Story” on Monday soon after Trump announced his selection, telling host Martha MacCallum that in the first 100 days of the Trump administration, Republicans will “roll back regulations” that are causing businesses to “struggle” and are “forcing” them to move overseas.
“Businesses strive to grow, expand here and have the ability to export what they produce, as opposed to exporting their jobs,” he said. “There are regulations that the left wing of this country has been advocating through regulatory power that ends up causing businesses to go in the wrong direction.”
Zeldin did not identify any specific policy he would seek to roll back, saying only that Trump “cares about conserving” the environment and preserving Americans’ access “to clean air, clean water.”
During his time in Congress, Zeldin sought to protect the Long Island Sound from dredge sediment dumping. He also joined the Conservative Climate Caucus, a group of House Republicans that argues that the GOP should play a more active role in climate policy debates in Washington.
But the League of Conservation Voters gave him a 14 percent lifetime score for his votes against numerous environmental bills. While he voted in 2020 to support greater regulation of “forever chemicals,” also known as PFAS or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, he voted against closing a loophole in the Clean Water Act that allows companies to discharge unlimited amounts of PFAS into waterways.
“A 14 percent lifetime score is not what you want from someone who could potentially be charged with protecting the air we breathe, protecting the water we drink and fighting the climate crisis,” said Tiernan Sittenfeld, senior vice president for government affairs at the League of Conservation Voters.
During the race for governor, Zeldin criticized many of Hochul’s climate and energy policies. He called for reversing a ban on fracking in New York, and he described her policies pushing for the adoption of electric cars and electric heating “out of touch.”
Before Zeldin’s selection, the Trump transition team had been considering tapping Andrew Wheeler, who led the EPA during Trump’s first term, to reprise the role, according to two people familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe private deliberations.
“This is a surprise to those of us who thought he would pick loyalists from his previous administration, several of whom were vying to be EPA administrator,” said Alex Flint, executive director of the Alliance for Market Solutions, a conservative group that advocates for a tax on carbon emissions.
Wheeler and the transition team did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)
