WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump has selected former New York GOP Rep. Lee Zeldin to serve as administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, The Post can exclusively report.
Zeldin, 44, served four terms as a Republican congressman repping eastern Long Island before losing the 2022 New York governor’s race to Democrat Kathy Hochul by a surprisingly close margin — and will become a key figure in adopting Trump’s deregulatory and pro-energy production policies.
“I am deeply honored to have been asked by President Trump to serve in his Cabinet. As EPA Administrator, we will restore American energy dominance, revitalize our auto industry to bring back American jobs, make the United States the global leader of Artificial Intelligence advancement, and slash the red tape holding back American workers from upward economic mobility,” Zeldin said in a statement to The Post.
“We will accomplish all this while conserving our environment, protecting access to clean air and water, and keeping the American people healthy. I look forward to contributing to President Trump’s agenda to build a more prosperous future for our nation.”
Under outgoing President Biden, the EPA in March adopted stricter vehicle emissions standards intended to compel carmakers to make half of new vehicles sold have zero emissions by 2030. The measure is likely to be one of the first that a second Trump administration plans to roll back.
The EPA has a role in many areas of the economy due to its regulation of the physical environment utilized by businesses and Zeldin is set to have a major role implementing Trump’s revocation of Biden’s anti-fossil fuels policies.
As president, Biden paused export permits for liquified natural gas, scrapped or stalled new oil and gas pipelines and attempted to bar new permits for drilling on federal land — with each of those efforts now expected to go up in smoke.
Zeldin is also due to have a hand in the regulation of new power facilities and transmission lines needed for artificial intelligence — while overseeing billions in funding for environmental programs passed under Biden, such as the EPA’s $27 billion Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund to encourage private-sector transition away from fossil fuels.
The Biden administration reportedly is attempting to dispense all available stimulus and green infrastructure funding before Trump and congressional Republicans retake power in January to prevent them from clawing back the money.
Trump confirmed his decision to nominate Zeldin in his own statement.
“Lee, with a very strong legal background, has been a true fighter for America First policies. He will ensure fair and swift deregulatory decisions that will be enacted in a way to unleash the power of American businesses, while at the same time maintaining the highest environmental standards, including the cleanest air and water on the planet,” Trump said.
“He will set new standards on environmental review and maintenance that will allow the United States to grow in a healthy and well-structured way.”
Trump added: “I have known Lee Zeldin for a long time, and have watched him handle, brilliantly, some extremely difficult and complex situations. I am very proud to have him in the Trump Administration, where he will quickly prove to be a great contributor!”
The Republican-held Senate must approve the nomination.
Zeldin earned his law degree from Albany Law School in 2003 before serving four years in the Army. He served in the New York state Senate before entering Congress as one of the few Jewish Republican office-holders.
Zeldin’s prior political work included working to shield Long Island from potentially harmful dredge waste and he’s likely to be greeted with less horror by Democrats than some other potential nominees for the post.
Zeldin will serve in the Cabinet alongside Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY), whom Trump announced Sunday night as his UN ambassador. Both Zeldin and Stefanik served on Trump’s ceremonial defense team during his first impeachment trial in 2020.
