President-elect Donald Trump announced on November 11 that he has selected former New York representative Lee Zeldin as Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. The 44-year-old will oversee a federal regulatory agency staffed by more than 15,000 civil servants, scientists, and legal compliance officers. Trump declared Zeldin would execute swift deregulatory decisions designed to unleash domestic manufacturing, traditional fossil energy production, and corporate capital development.
Zeldin committed to streamline permitting timelines while preserving baseline environmental protections. On Fox News, EPA Administrator-designate Lee Zeldin stated: "We will restore American energy dominance, revitalize our auto industry to bring back American jobs, and make the United States the global leader of artificial intelligence while preserving access to clean air and water." Zeldin emphasized permitting bottlenecks throttled investments in electrical grid reliability and computing infrastructure.
Federal rules targeted for early review include carbon capture requirements for existing coal and new natural gas baseload power plants and tailpipe emissions standards adopted by the EPA in March 2024 that aimed to incentivize electric vehicles to comprise roughly two-thirds of light-duty sales by 2032. Industry groups and state attorneys general have challenged both measures. Zeldin served in the U.S. Army JAG Corps, the New York State Senate, and represented eastern Long Island in the U.S. House from 2015 to 2023.
Earthjustice criticized the appointment; environmental advocates highlighted Zeldin's 14% lifetime environmental score from the League of Conservation Voters. Republicans command a 53-seat majority in the incoming 119th Senate, with confirmation before the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works in early January. Zeldin's agenda prioritizes expediting environmental impact reviews for crude oil and natural gas infrastructure and streamlining interstate pipeline approvals across the Permian Basin in Texas, the Gulf Coast, and Alaska's North Slope. California officials confirmed intentions to defend the state's Clean Air Act waiver.
