The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) mission is to ensure that all Americans have access to a safe and healthy environment—based on the best available science—and to enforce federal laws designed to protect public health. The head of the EPA, just like other cabinet members, is appointed by the President and then confirmed by the Senate. Trump’s pick for the administrator of the EPA is Lee Zeldin, a former Congressman from New York State. Zeldin’s background is rooted in military service followed by a steady climb through New York politics. He served in the military from 2003 to 2007 before being elected to the New York State Senate in 2011, where he served until 2014. He then represented New York’s first district in the U.S. House of Representatives from 2015 to 2023. In November 2024, then President-elect Donald Trump nominated him to lead the Environmental Protection Agency, and he was confirmed by the Senate on January 29, 2025.
Zeldin’s record raises serious questions about whether he is suitable for this role, and has the best interest in mind for public health. According to the National Environmental Scorecard, he supported pro-environment bills only 14% of the time during his tenure in the New York State Senate and in Congress, suggesting a history that may not fully align with the EPA’s critical mission or serve the best interests of the environment. For example, despite the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 being one of the most influential environmental bills in American history—encouraging a variety of progressive environmental policies—Zeldin voted against it. Similarly, in 2021, when the Inflation Reduction Act and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law came to a vote, Zeldin again voted no. This specific law provides $369 billion to fight climate issues, doing things such as providing government tax credits for clean energy and “climate-smart” agriculture.” Zeldin’s extensive history of voting negatively for environmentally focused issues is a genuine cause for concern for climate-conscious people and critics of Trump’s new administration.
To further understand where Zeldin’s priorities lie, it is important to look at the new “Powering the Great American Comeback” initiative created under Trump’s EPA. According to the EPA website, this initiative is built on five foundational pillars. One pillar reaffirms the agency’s core mission of providing clean air, land, and water, while the remaining four prioritize economic growth in the United States over environmental protection. In particular, Zeldin’s plan focuses on restoring American energy dominance, easing regulatory climate-related laws on American companies, positioning the United States as the global leader in artificial intelligence, and protecting and returning American auto-manufacturing jobs.
With Trump’s promises of economic prosperity and a new “golden age” for the U.S. economy, it makes sense for there to be such a push in this direction. But at what lengths should the Environmental Protection Agency go to in order to bolster the American economy? Should the agency’s main priority not be to protect the environment instead of to sideline it? One of the EPA’s roles is to create and enforce climate-related regulations that American businesses then have to implement, but with Zeldin’s new EPA, we could see tremendous cuts in these regulations, all in the name of short-term economic growth. Currently, the EPA mandates that businesses within the oil and natural gas sector must comply with strict rules and regulations that reduce their output of “ground-level ozone (smog) and hazardous air pollutants.” Furthermore, the EPA has rules in place that stop American power plants from emitting high enough levels of air pollutants to produce things like acid rain.
While Zeldin is committed to deregulation and cutbacks on the EPA’s spending, it is important to note that the United States has seen something similar to this administration before in regard to climate change. The Reagan Administration (1981-1989) proposed and implemented “similar attempts to downsize the EPA” and to “deregulate” many EPA programs with aims to combat climate change. For Reagan, deregulation of the government, including the environment, was a large part of his presidency, during which the EPA reversed many of the progressive regulatory actions of previous administrations. During this time, states took over, creating and enforcing many of their own regulations with regard to businesses and the environment. Many people believe that it could be the same case with this current administration.
Sources
“Meet Lee Zeldin.” Zeldin For New York, zeldinfornewyork.com/meet-lee/.
“Former New York State Senator Lee M. Zeldin.” The New York State Senate, www.nysenate.gov/senators/lee-m-zeldin.
“Former New York State Senator Lee M. Zeldin.” The New York State Senate, www.nysenate.gov/senators/lee-m-zeldin.
“Trump picks ally Lee Zeldin as environment chief and vows to roll back rules.” The Guardian, www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/nov/11/ trump-appoint-lee-zeldin-epa-chief.
“Our Mission and What We Do.” United States Environmental Protection Agency, www.epa.gov/aboutepa/our-mission-and-what-we-do.
“National Environmental Scorecard Representative Lee Zeldin.” National Environmental Scorecard, scorecard.lcv.org/moc/lee-zeldin.
“FACT SHEET: How the Inflation Reduction Act’s Tax Incentives Are Ensuring All Americans Benefit from the Growth of the Clean Energy Economy.” U.S. Department of the Treasury, home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/jy1830.
“EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin Announces EPA’s ‘Powering the Great American Comeback’ Initiative.” epa.gov, 4 Feb. 2025, www.epa.gov/newsreleases/ epa-administrator-lee-zeldin-announces-epas-powering-great-american-comeback.
“Trump inherits a strong economy by the numbers. What’s his plan to lower prices?” National Public Radio, www.npr.org/2025/01/25/nx-s1-5270829/ trump-inherits-a-strong-economy-by-the-numbers-whats-his-plan-to-lower-prices.
“How the Inflation Reduction Act and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Work Together to Advance Climate Action.” Environmental and Energy Study Institue, 12 Sept. 2022, www.eesi.org/articles/view/ how-the-inflation-reduction-act-and-bipartisan-infrastructure-law-work-together-t o-advance-climate-action.
“Climate Change Regulatory Actions and Initiatives.” United States Environmental Protection Agency, www.epa.gov/climate-change/ climate-change-regulatory-actions-and-initiatives.
“What’s Next for the EPA Under Trump?” Public Health Johns Hopkins, publichealth.jhu.edu/2024/the-epa-under-trump.
Weinberg, Phillip. “Masquerade for Privilege: Deregulation Undermining Environmental Protection.” Washington and Lee Law Review, 1988, scholarlycommons.law.wlu.edu/cgi/ viewcontent.cgi?referer=&httpsredir=1&article=2365&context=wlulr#:~:text=Presiden t%20Reagan%20appointed%20Anne%20Gorsuch,programs%2C%20such%20as%20noise%20control .
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