U.S. President-elect Donald Trump announced Monday that he will appoint former Republican Congressman Lee Zeldin to lead the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Zeldin, known for opposing environmental measures such as a recent bill to prevent oil companies from price gouging, is expected to support Trump’s deregulatory agenda.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump said, “He will ensure fair and swift deregulatory decisions that will be enacted in a way to unleash the power of American businesses, while at the same time maintaining the highest environmental standards, including the cleanest air and water on the planet.”
As President, Trump intends to roll back various EPA rules regulating fossil fuel emissions, including those limiting carbon emissions from power plants and vehicles. He plans to begin rescinding EPA and Department of Transportation vehicle pollution rules on his first day in office and may reduce or eliminate electric vehicle (EV) tax incentives. Additionally, he plans to revoke California’s authority to set its own vehicle emissions standards—a move he made previously in 2019, which President Biden later reversed. Trump will also oversee billions of dollars allocated for EV charging infrastructure.
During his unsuccessful 2022 New York governor campaign, Zeldin opposed New York’s decision to join California’s Zero Emission Vehicle program, which aims to end the sale of gasoline-only vehicles by 2035. He also called for reversing New York’s ban on fracking, a controversial drilling practice, arguing it would create jobs.
In a recent post on X (formerly Twitter), Zeldin expressed his vision: “We will restore US energy dominance, revitalize our auto industry to bring back American jobs, and make the US the global leader of AI.”
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