-- Shares Facebook Twitter Reddit Email President-elect Donald Trump tapped New York Republican Lee Zeldin Monday to be his new head of the Environmental Protection Agency , further signaling his intention to oppose government action to address climate change. Zeldin, who served as a United States Representative from 2015 to 2023 and ran against Gov. Kathy Hochul in the 2022 New York gubernatorial election, is being touted by Trump for policies that will “ensure fair and swift deregulatory decisions that will be enacted in a way to unleash the power of American businesses.
” Trump also promises that Zeldin will protect the environment. “We will restore U.S.
energy dominance, revitalize our auto industry to bring back American jobs, and make the U.S. the global leader of AI,” Zeldin said in his statement accepting the job, later adding he will also protect "access to clean air and water.
" Related Even Republicans like Richard Nixon were once champions of the environment. What happened? Zeldin has a 14 percent rating from the League of Conservation Voters, with the organization finding he opposed 51 out of 53 climate change bills on which he voted from 2015 to 2023. Because Zeldin represented a Long Island district, he has supported conservation measures that focus on Long Island coastlines.
At the same time, he opposed clean water legislation at least 12 times and clean air legislation at least six times. Prior to the selection of Zeldin, scientists analyzing Trump’s .