Trump chooses former Congressman Lee Zeldin to head the EPA

Zeldin confirmed in an interview on Monday that he accepted the offer after to X and said it was an “honor” to participate Trump’s next cabinet.

“We will restore American energy dominance, revive our auto industry to bring back American jobs, and make the US the world leader in AI,” Zeldin wrote. “We will do this while protecting access to clean air and water.”

In a separate statement, Trump said he had offered the former congressman the role, describing the Republican as a “true fighter for America First policies.”

Trump indicated that the new EPA leadership will prioritize rolling back the Biden administration’s EPA regulations. He said that Zeldin, if confirmed, “will ensure fair and swift deregulation decisions that will be made in a way to unleash the power of American corporations, while at the same time allowing time to maintain the highest environmental standards, including the cleanest air and water in the world.”

As of Monday, the U.S. ranks 16th on the Yale Center for Environmental Law & Policy’s Environmental Performance Index for air quality, and 26th for sanitation and drinking water.

Trump said Zeldin “will set new standards in environmental research and maintenance, allowing the United States to grow in a healthy and well-structured way.”

During his campaign, Trump pledged to roll back key climate-related rules issued by the EPA this year, including the controversial rule on power plant pollution.

The rule, which went into effect on July 8, targets carbon pollution from power plants with the aim of limiting greenhouse gas emissions. It mandates existing coal-fired power plants and new natural gas plants to reduce their emissions by 2032 by implementing carbon capture and storage technologies. That was the rule for months disputed by dozens of Republican-led states. Trump previously called the rule a “disaster” for the US

Zeldin will need to be confirmed by the Senate before he can rise to the top of the EPA. But with Republicans set to control the House, the new Trump administration is likely to encounter few hurdles in the process.

Monday’s announcement came as a surprise to many, as Zeldin had not previously been suggested as one of the leading contenders for the position ahead of the election.

Previously, former Trump administration officials and conservative allies suspected that Andrew Wheeler, who led the agency from 2019 to 2021, would be tapped to serve again. Other likely candidates included former EPA official Mandy Gunasekara, former EPA Regional Administrator for Texas Anne Austin, and former Trump Ambassador to Denmark Carla Sands. North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum was also floated as a possible choice for Trump’s “energy czar.”

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Before being offered the position of EPA administrator, Zeldin represented New York’s 1st Congressional District from 2015 to 2023. His time in Congress ended when he ran for governor in 2022. Zeldin was defeated by Democrat Kathy Hochul.

If confirmed, Zeldin will serve in Trump’s Cabinet alongside Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY), who has been selected as Trump’s U.N. ambassador.