President-elect Donald Trump on Monday chosen former Rep. Lee Zeldin of New York to supervise the Environmental Protection Agency in his administration.
In a assertion asserting the appointment, Trump described the previous four-term House Republican from Long Island as “a real fighter for America First insurance policies.”
“He will guarantee truthful and swift deregulatory choices that shall be enacted in a method to unleash the ability of American companies, whereas on the similar time sustaining the very best environmental requirements, together with the cleanest air and water on the planet,” Trump stated. “He will set new requirements on environmental evaluation and upkeep, that may enable the United States to develop in a wholesome and well-structured manner.”
Zeldin stated it was “an honor to hitch President Trump’s Cabinet as EPA Administrator.”
“We will restore US vitality dominance, revitalize our auto trade to carry again American jobs, and make the US the worldwide chief of AI. We will achieve this whereas defending entry to scrub air and water,” Zeldin stated in an announcement on X.
The New York Post first reported Zeldin’s appointment — Trump’s second Cabinet choose for his second time period in workplace.
The president-elect has made different staffing bulletins in current days. Last week, he stated that Susie Wiles, his marketing campaign supervisor, would function White House chief of employees. On Sunday, Trump named immigration hardliner Tom Homan as his “border czar.”
Trump has indicated he plans to withdraw from the Paris local weather accord, a transfer mirroring related steps he took throughout his first administration. He has additionally referred to as for repealing the Inflation Reduction Act, a signature legislative accomplishment by President Joe Biden. The legislation commits billions of {dollars} towards increasing clear vitality to cut back U.S. greenhouse fuel emissions.
Environmentalists bashed Trump’s EPA choose.
Sierra Club government director Ben Jealous referred to as Zeldin “an unqualified, anti-American employee who opposes efforts to safeguard our clear air and water.”
“Our lives, our livelihoods, and our collective future can’t afford Lee Zeldin — or anybody who seeks to hold out a mission antithetical to the EPA’s mission,” Jealous stated in a assertion. “We have made an excessive amount of progress to permit Donald Trump and Lee Zeldin to take us again.”
Zeldin was heralded by Republicans for an unexpectedly shut race for New York governor in 2022, when he misplaced to Democrat Kathy Hochul 53.1% to 46.7%. Some Republicans highlighted Zeldin’s efficiency as enjoying a task in serving to Republicans flip 4 House seats in New York that 12 months, specifically that of former Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney, who chaired the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.