Lee Zeldin, Trump’s pick to head EPA, faces Senate confirmation hearing

Of all the government agencies that President-elect Donald Trump has threatened to shrink or eliminate, perhaps none has been a greater target than the Environmental Protection Agency.

During the first Trump administration, the nation’s top regulator of air and water pollution and industrial chemicals saw its budget slashed, leading to an exodus of employees and weakened enforcement of environmental rules.

This time, Trump could go further.

President Joe Biden rebuilt the EPA and used it to enact two powerful climate regulations aimed at cutting greenhouse gas emissions from tailpipes and power plants. But Trump has already promised to “kill” the agency’s climate regulations, and people close to the Trump transition have recommended ousting EPA career staff, eliminating its scientific advisers, and closing an office that helps minority communities that disproportionately struggle with polluted air and water. There is even discussion of moving EPA headquarters and its 7,000 workers out of Washington, possibly to Texas or Florida, as a way to shed employees.

The man who would carry out the dismantling is former Rep. Lee Zeldin, R-N.Y., who was set to appear Thursday morning before the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works.

The nomination of Zeldin baffled many, since he has little background in environmental regulation.

But Zeldin, 44, who ran unsuccessfully for governor of New York in 2022, is a Trump supporter who voted against certifying the results of the 2020 election. Friends say he has a long and loyal connection with the president-elect.

“They have a unique bond,” said Chris Berardini, a Republican lobbyist. “Republicans in New York tend to be always close. It’s a very lonely fraternity.”

The two men have something else in common, Berardini said. Last summer, Trump survived an assassination attempt at a campaign event. In 2022, Zeldin was attacked by a man with a pointed weapon at a campaign event. “Those are the subtle threads that weave into a personal relationship,” Berardini said.

While Zeldin is not experienced in environmental regulation, he and his allies point to his years representing his Long Island district, which included miles of coastline and had a bipartisan tradition of environmental conservation.

At the same time, Zeldin appears to have embraced Trump’s seemingly contradictory position: he says he wants clean air and water while he plans to erase regulations that ensure both, along with limits on the emissions of greenhouse gases from fossil fuels that are linked to stronger droughts, wildfires, floods.

Upon accepting the nomination to head the EPA, Zeldin wrote on X, “We will restore US energy dominance, revitalize our auto industry to bring back American jobs, and make the US the global leader of AI. We will do so by protecting clean air and water.”

Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., who chairs the environment committee, said Wednesday on Fox Business News of Zeldin that “By being the representative from New York, he’s seen all different types of clean air, clean water issues, and the best way to solve those problems.”

But Capito, whose home state is a major producer of coal and natural gas, also appears confident that Zeldin will execute Trump’s plans.

In a Facebook post last month, Capito wrote, “Congressman Zeldin understands the need to roll back regulatory overreach, unleash American energy, and allow Americans to build again — all while protecting public health and the environment. His skill set is well suited to implement the agenda of President Trump.”

Zeldin has not said much about whether he accepts the established science of climate change but he was a member of the bipartisan Climate Solutions Caucus in Congress. However, he voted against the Inflation Reduction Act, the nation’s first major climate law, which pumped at least $370 billion into clean energy programs.

When Gov. Kathy Hochul of New York criticized Zeldin, he responded on social media, saying, “I just voted NO because the bill sucks.”

During Zeldin’s tenure in the House, he voted against clean water legislation at least a dozen times and clean air legislation at least half a dozen times, according to a scorecard by the League of Conservation Voters, an environmental group.

However, he has boasted about securing federal funds to improve the health of Long Island Sound, and he voted for a bill that would require the EPA to set limits on damaging chemicals known as PFAS, which are persistent in the environment and the human body. The EPA under the Biden administration has set strict limits on chemicals in drinking water. In 2020, he voted against legislation to slash the agency’s budget.

Sen. Edward J. Markey, D-Mass., a senior member of the environment committee, said he met with Zeldin on Tuesday and had “a good, candid conversation.”

Still Markey questioned his qualifications to run the EPA, and expressed skepticism about his commitment to guard the air and water from polluting industries.

“I’m not convinced his top priority is protecting communities and our environment,” Markey said.

On climate change, Markey said Zeldin “said he believed that human activity contributes to climate change.” But he said, “My questions go to what the EPA priorities would be under his leadership.”