President-elect Donald Trump on Monday named former Rep. Lee Zeldin of New York to oversee his administration’s Environmental Protection Agency.
In a statement announcing the appointment, Trump described Zeldin, a former four-term Republican from Long Island, as “a true fighter for America First policies.”
“He will ensure fair and swift deregulatory decisions that will be made in a way that will unleash the power of corporate America while maintaining the highest environmental standards, including the cleanest air and water on earth,” Trump said. “He will set new standards in environmental research and maintenance that will help the United States grow in a healthy and well-structured way.”
Zeldin said it was “an honor to join President Trump’s Cabinet as EPA administrator.”
“We will restore American energy dominance, revitalize our auto industry to bring back American jobs, and make the US the world leader in AI. We will do this while protecting access to clean air and water,” he said on X.
The post requires Senate confirmation. Republicans will have a majority in the House when the new Congress is sworn in in January.
The EPA’s fiscal year 2024 budget is $9.1 billion. The agency has 15,130 employees.
After Trump’s announcement, Zeldin said in a Fox News interview that he would prioritize efforts to “roll back regulations” that he said were causing American businesses to struggle.
“There are regulations that the left wing of this country has advocated for through regulatory power that ultimately causes companies to move in the wrong direction,” he said.
The New York Post first reported the appointment of Zeldin – Trump’s second Cabinet pick for his second term.
Trump has made even more personnel announcements in recent days. Last week he said Susie Wiles, his campaign manager, would become White House chief of staff. On Sunday, he called immigration hardliner Tom Homan his “border czar.”
Trump has indicated he plans to withdraw from the Paris climate accord, a move that mirrors those he took during his first administration. He has also called for a repeal of the Inflation Reduction Act, a signature legislative achievement of President Joe Biden. The law provides billions of dollars to expand clean energy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the US.
In Congress, Zeldin and fellow Republicans voted against the historic climate measure.
Environmentalists on Monday rejected Trump’s choice.
Sierra Club director Ben Jealous called Zeldin “an unqualified, anti-American worker who opposes efforts to protect our clean air and water.”
“Our lives, our livelihoods and our collective future cannot afford Lee Zeldin – or anyone else who wants to carry out a mission that conflicts with the EPA’s mission,” Jealous said in a statement. “We have made too much progress to allow Donald Trump and Lee Zeldin to take us back.”
Zeldin chairs the China Policy Initiative at the America First Policy Institute, a conservative think tank of former Trump administration officials that was founded in 2021.
Republicans announced him for an unexpectedly close battle for the governorship of New York in 2022, when he lost 53.1% to 46.7% to Democrat Kathy Hochul. Some Republicans emphasized that Zeldin’s performance played a role in helping Republicans flip four seats in the New York House of Representatives that year, most notably that of Sean Patrick Maloney, who chaired the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
