West Palm Beach, Florida CNN –
President-elect Donald Trump has selected former New York State Rep. Lee Zeldin to be administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, and Zeldin has announced his acceptance of the position.
“It is an honor to join President Trump’s Cabinet as Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. We will restore America’s energy dominance, revitalize our auto industry to bring back American jobs, and make the United States a global leader in artificial intelligence. We will do so while protecting access to clean air and water.” ,” Zeldin posted on X Monday.
Zeldin, who lost the 2022 New York governor’s race to Kathy Hochul, has remained close to Trump, making regular appearances at Mar-a-Lago throughout his 2024 campaign.
One of Zeldin’s first tasks will likely be to begin the process of reversing many of Biden’s biggest EPA rules on climate, including vehicle exhaust regulations and rules aimed at cutting pollution from power plants and oil and gas producers.
Zeldin most recently headed the China Policy Initiative at the American Policy First Institute, a nonprofit think tank founded to promote Trump’s agenda, where he has written about the national security threats posed by China.
On Monday, Zeldin told Fox News that he would withdraw “left-wing” regulations and focus on “unlocking economic prosperity” through the agency.
“President Trump, when he called me, oh my God, he was talking about 15 or 20 different priorities, with a clear focus. He wasn’t reading from some paper, it was on top of his head. “If I challenged him to give me 50 more ideas about what to do with this agency to improve the economy, I’m confident he would have done it,” Zeldin said shortly after the announcement was made.
He continued: “I have a feeling that we are on the verge of what could be the greatest four years that we have ever seen for any president in the White House.”
As a congressman from New York, Zeldin received the worst score from the League of Conservation Voters on environmental issues out of the entire New York delegation in 2020.
Zeldin received a lifetime score of 14% from LCV, a national environmental advocacy group. While in Congress, LCV showed Zeldin voting against many of the things the EPA is tasked with leading, including replacing lead service lines across the country. However, in 2020, Zeldin voted against a Republican amendment that would have cut EPA funding.
Zeldin voted against Biden’s 2022 climate law, as did every other House Republican. He was among a majority of House Republicans who also voted against the bipartisan 2021 infrastructure bill, which included EPA funding for clean school buses, cleanup of toxic field sites, and funding to replace lead pipes and service lines across the country.
About $103 billion in funding for Biden’s climate law — 92% of the law’s total — had been announced as of late October. This money will fund everything from clean energy rebates to helping coastal communities prepare for rising sea levels and cutting pollution from oil and gas operations. The EPA alone is on track to oblige nearly $38.3 billion from the FRA by the end of the year, which will make it difficult for the Trump administration to recover it.
Zeldin said Trump cares about ensuring access to clean air and water but wants to use the EPA to achieve “energy dominance.”
“The economy has been one of the biggest issues for many Americans, and the president has been talking about unleashing economic prosperity through the EPA. We have the potential to continue energy dominance, be able to make the United States the AI capital of the world, and bring American jobs back to The auto industry, and much more. President Trump cares about preserving the environment, as I just mentioned in this statement from him: “His desire to ensure access to clean air and clean water has been a top priority,” Zeldin said.
When asked about the agency’s first-day priorities, Zeldin said: “So, on day one and the first 100 days, we have the opportunity to roll back regulations that are forcing companies to be able to struggle. They’re having to cut costs internally. They’re moving offshore all together.”
“There are regulations that are advocated by the left wing in this country through the regulatory authority that ultimately push companies into going in the wrong direction,” he said.
This story has been updated with additional reporting.
