Lee Zeldin joined the second Trump administration in January of 2025 as the new Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. As a Republican, Zeldin served in the House of Representatives from New York’s 1st district (eastern Long Island) from 2015 to 2023. He ran for Governor of New York in 2022 and lost to Democratic candidate Kathy Hochul.
Zeldin served on Trump’s defense team during his first impeachment. He voted against certifying Trump’s loss to President Biden in 2020.
Zeldin on Climate Change
As the EPA Administrator, Zeldin has promised to rollback regulations and the Associated Press notes that Zeldin plans to drive “a dagger through the heart of climate-change religion.”
In reporting from NBC News, Zeldin wrote in the Wall Street Journal that, he wants to reassess rules he believes have “throttled oil and gas production and unfairly targeted coal-fired power plants.” The article goes notes Zeldin signaled that the EPA would consider upending its own endangerment finding, a 2009 legal decision that says greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide and methane are warming the Earth and that warming presents a threat to public health and welfare.
As noted in the Los Angeles Times, Zeldin plans to rollback 31 environmental rules that dramatically impact the fight against climate change.
In 2020, Zeldin received the League of Conservation Voters’ worst environmental score of New York’s congressional delegation. According to the Associated Press, Zeldin voted against the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, legislation designed to boost renewable energy and fight climate change.
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) is quoted on the EPA website as saying: “I’m confident [Lee Zeldin] will reverse the disastrous climate policies of the Biden admin. Lee will fight for jobs & a limited-regulation approach that will safeguard both our economy & our environment.”
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson: “Under President Trump’s leadership and with Lee at the helm of the EPA, we will unleash America’s energy dominance, revamp our auto industry, and roll back radical Green New Deal regulations.”
Jerry Simmons, President and CEO, Domestic Energy Producers’ Alliance says, “We believe that Zeldin will carry out President elect Trump’s energy and environmental agenda, which includes pulling back Biden-era rules on climate and air pollution and potentially rescinding millions of dollars in funding for clean energy under the Inflation Reduction Act.”
Friends of Lee Zeldin
Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-WY)
DWC