Everything Lee Zeldin has said about climate change

President-elect Donald Trump announced Monday that former New York representative Lee Zeldin will lead the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in his second term as president.

Zeldin, a 44-year-old Republican who made an unsuccessful bid for New York governor in 2022 and is leaving Congress in 2023, will “ensure fair and swift deregulation decisions that will be passed in a way that unleashes the power of corporate America,” said Trump in a statement.

A longtime opponent of climate regulation, Zeldin will also uphold “the highest environmental standards, including the cleanest air and water on the planet,” Trump said. The statement misidentified the EPA as the Environmental Protective Agency.

Zeldin has expressed mixed views on climate change and environmental policy throughout his political career. While he has supported some initiatives in renewable energy, such as extending tax credits for solar energy investments and research into offshore wind potential, his overall environmental record has drawn criticism.

While in Congress, he did not serve on committees that oversaw environmental policy and had a 14 percent longevity score from the League of Conservation Voters, an environmental advocacy group, during his eight years in Congress.

In 2020, LCV gave him a score of 24 percent, well below the average for New York representatives. LCV has also highlighted how Zeldin often voted against the Clean Air Act, even though Suffolk County has some of the worst air quality in New York.

In 2016, Zeldin pushed to change the designation of about 150 square miles of federal waters in Long Island Sound to the state jurisdiction of New York and Rhode Island. He wanted to open the area to striped bass fishing.

Zeldin co-sponsored the Carbon Capture Improvement Act to encourage carbon capture technology, but has also faced opposition for votes seen as favoring fossil fuel industries and opposing stricter environmental regulations.

Critics highlight his lack of support for key climate and conservation legislation, such as measures to phase out harmful fishing gear and expand protections for natural areas.

However, Zeldin has pointed to his efforts to secure funding for projects like the Long Island Sound cleanup and opposition to offshore drilling as examples of his commitment to local environmental issues.

In the 2022 governor’s race, Zeldin pledged to reverse a fracking ban imposed by Democrats.

In an interview Monday on Fox News, Zeldin said he would seek to ensure the United States could “pursue energy dominance … bring American jobs back to the auto industry and more.”

Zeldin said he was excited to implement Trump’s economic agenda, adding, “I think the American people are so hungry for it. That’s one of the big reasons they’re sending him back to the White House House.”

Trump’s new administration also includes longtime adviser and immigration hardliner Stephen Miller as deputy director of policy and New York Representative Elise Stefanik as his nominee for US Ambassador to the United Nations.

This story includes reporting from The Associated Press.

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