President-elect Donald Trump announced Monday that former New York Representative Lee Zeldin will lead the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) during his second term as president.
Zeldin, a 44-year-old Republican who mounted a failed bid for governor of New York in 2022 and left Congress in 2023, will "ensure fair and swift deregulatory decisions that will be enacted in a way to unleash the power of American businesses," Trump said in a statement.
A longtime opponent of climate regulation, Zeldin will also maintain "the highest environmental standards, including the cleanest air and water on the planet," Trump said. The statement misidentified the EPA as the Environmental Protective Agency.
Zeldin has expressed mixed views on climate change and environmental policy throughout his political career. While he has supported some renewable energy initiatives, like extending solar investment tax credits and researching offshore wind potential, his overall environmental record has drawn criticism.
While in Congress, he did not serve on committees overseeing environmental policy and had a lifetime score of 14 percent from the League of Conservation Voters, an environmental advocacy group, during his eight years in Congress.
In 2020, the LCV gave him a 24 percent score, far below the average for New York representatives. The LCV also flagged how Zeldin frequently voted against the Clean Air Act, although Suffolk County has some of the worst air quality in New York.
In 2016, Zeldin pushed to change the designation of about 150 square miles of federal waters in Long Island Sound to state jurisdiction for New York and Rhode Island. He wanted to open the area to striped bass fishing.
Zeldin co-sponsored the Carbon Capture Improvement Act to encourage carbon capture technology but has also faced opposition for votes seen as favoring fossil fuel industries and opposing stricter environmental regulations.
Critics highlight his lack of support for key climate and conservation legislation, such as measures to phase out harmful fishing gear and expand protections for natural areas.
However, Zeldin has pointed to his efforts in securing funding for projects like Long Island Sound cleanup and opposing offshore drilling as examples of his commitment to local environmental issues.
In the 2022 governor's race, Zeldin vowed to reverse a fracking ban imposed by Democrats.
In an interview Monday on Fox News, Zeldin said that he would seek to ensure that the United States could "pursue energy dominance...bring back American jobs to the auto industry and so much more."
Zeldin said he was excited to implement Trump's economic agenda, adding, "I think the American people are so hungry for it. It's one of the big reasons why they're sending him back to the White House."
Trump's new administration also includes longtime advisor and immigration hard-liner Stephen Miller as the deputy chief of policy and New York Representative Elise Stefanik as his nominee for U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations.
This story includes reporting from The Associated Press.
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