Washington – On November 11, U.S. President-elect Donald Trump announced his nomination of former Republican Congressman Lee Zeldin to lead the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). In his statement, Trump described Zeldin as a “true fighter for America First policies” and highlighted his eight years in Congress as a vocal advocate on a range of issues including foreign policy, border security, military affairs, combating antisemitism, environmental issues, and energy policy.
Zeldin, a native of Long Island, New York, is a married father of twin daughters. He wasted no time in expressing his priorities for his new role, taking to social media to promise to “restore US energy dominance, revitalize the auto industry, bring back American jobs, and make the US the global leader of AI.”
One of Zeldin’s top priorities is protecting access to clean air and water. During his time in Congress, he voted in favor of limiting the presence of toxic substances known as PFAS, or “forever chemicals,” in drinking water. He also stood against offshore drilling in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, citing the need to protect coastal communities and marine wildlife from potential oil spills.
Environmental organizations have also highlighted Zeldin’s support for the Great American Outdoors Act, which increased funding for the maintenance of public lands and waters. However, the League of Conservation Voters (LCV) noted that during his four terms in Congress, Zeldin only voted in favor of environmental legislation 14% of the time.
The LCV’s voting tracker shows that Zeldin rejected most of the legislative proposals related to climate change. While he never served on committees with oversight of environmental policy, he was a member of the House Climate Solutions Caucus, a short-lived bipartisan effort aimed at promoting constructive dialogue on climate change.
At this year’s United Nations Climate Change Conference, U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres renewed his call for countries to move away from burning fossil fuels, the primary cause of global warming. He warned that time is running out to limit global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
Under the incoming administration of Democratic President Joe Biden, the EPA has set limits on the production of oil and gas and prioritized the production of clean and renewable power in an effort to combat climate change. The EPA’s website currently states that “understanding and addressing climate change is critical to the agency’s mission of protecting human health and the environment.”
However, with Trump’s economic vision for the country taking precedence, Zeldin’s nomination signals a change in priorities for the EPA. In a speech at The Economic Club of New York on September 5, Trump declared, “We will blast through every bureaucratic hurdle to issue rapid approvals for new drilling, new pipelines, new refineries, new power plants, new electric plants, and reactors of all types.”
Zeldin has expressed similar views in the past, particularly during his campaign for New York governor in 2022. “We should reverse the state’s ban on the safe extraction of natural gas. Approve new pipeline applications,” he stated at a campaign event.
If confirmed to the Cabinet post, Zeldin has promised to swiftly implement Trump’s economic agenda and roll back a wide range of Biden-era environmental protections on Day One. In an interview with Fox News on November 11, he stated, “There are regulations that the left wing of this country have been advocating through regulatory power that ends up causing businesses to go in the wrong direction.”
However, despite the potential rollbacks, climate action in the United States will not come to a complete halt. According to Carbon Direct policy analyst Zara Ahmed, “Consumers can choose to purchase a low-emissions vehicle. States can choose to enact their own regulations about emissions.”
In conclusion, the nomination of Lee Zeldin to lead the EPA has sparked both praise and criticism. While some applaud his commitment to protecting clean air and water, others have raised concerns about his voting record on environmental legislation. As the Trump administration prepares to hand over the reins to the Biden administration, the future of environmental policy in the United States remains uncertain.
