By Alayna Treene, Equipment Maher and Ella Nilsen, CNN
West Palm Seaside, Florida (CNN) — President-elect Donald Trump has chosen former New York Rep. Lee Zeldin to function his administrator of the Environmental Safety Company, and Zeldin introduced that he has accepted the function.
“It is an honor to join President Trump’s Cabinet as EPA Administrator. We will restore US energy dominance, revitalize our auto industry to bring back American jobs, and make the US the global leader of AI. We will do so while protecting access to clean air and water,” Zeldin posted on X Monday.
Zeldin, who misplaced the 2022 New York governor’s race to Kathy Hochul, has remained near Trump, recurrently showing at Mar-a-Lago all through his 2024 marketing campaign.
Considered one of Zeldin’s first duties will doubtless be beginning the method to overturn a number of of the Biden EPA’s largest guidelines on local weather, together with tailpipe laws for autos and guidelines geared toward slashing air pollution from energy crops and oil and gasoline producers.
Zeldin most just lately chaired the China coverage initiative on the America First Coverage Institute, a nonprofit assume tank based to advertise Trump’s agenda, the place he had written on nationwide safety threats posed by China.
Zeldin on Monday instructed Fox Information that he’ll pull again “left-wing” laws and deal with “unleashing economic prosperity” via the company.
“President Trump, when he called me up, gosh, he was rattling off 15, 20 different priorities, a clear focus. He wasn’t reading off of some sheet, it’s the top of his head. And if I challenged him to give me 50 more ideas of what to do with this agency to improve the economy, I’m confident he would have done that,” Zeldin stated shortly after the announcement was made.
“I have a feeling that we’re on the verge of what could be the greatest four years, we’ve ever seen of any president in the White House,” he continued.
As a congressman from New York, Zeldin obtained the League of Conservation Voters’ worst rating on environmental points out of the whole New York delegation in 2020.
Zeldin has a 14% lifetime rating from LCV, a nationwide environmental advocacy group. Whereas in Congress, LCV confirmed Zeldin voting towards a number of issues the EPA is charged with main on, together with changing lead service strains throughout the nation. Nevertheless, in 2020, Zeldin voted towards a Republican modification that may have slashed EPA funding.
Zeldin voted towards Biden’s 2022 local weather regulation – as did each different Home Republican. He was among the many majority of Home Republicans who additionally voted towards the 2021 bipartisan infrastructure regulation, which contained EPA funding for clear faculty buses, cleanup of poisonous brownfields websites, and funding to switch lead pipes and repair strains across the nation.
About $103 billion in Biden’s local weather regulation funding – 92% of the regulation’s whole – has been introduced as of late October. That cash will fund all the pieces from clear vitality rebates to serving to coastal communities put together for rising seas and slashing air pollution from oil and gasoline operations. The EPA alone is on observe to obligate almost $38.3 billion from the Inflation Discount Act by the tip of the 12 months, which can make it tougher for Trump’s administration to claw again.
Zeldin stated Trump cares about making certain entry to wash air and water however needs to make use of the EPA to pursue “energy dominance.”
“One of the biggest issues for so many Americans was the economy, and the president was talking about unleashing economic prosperity through the EPA. We have the ability to pursue energy dominance, to be able to make the United States the artificial intelligence capital of the world, to bring back American jobs to the auto industry, and so much more. President Trump cares about conserving the environment, as you just mentioned in that statement from him. His desire to ensure access to clean air, clean water, it was a top priority,” Zeldin stated.
Requested about day one priorities from the company, Zeldin stated, “So, day one and the first 100 days, we have the opportunity to roll back regulations that are forcing businesses to be able to struggle, they’re forced to cut costs, internally, they are moving overseas all together.”
“There are regulations that the left wing of this country have been advocating through regulatory power that ends up causing businesses to go in the wrong direction,” he stated.
This story has been up to date with extra reporting.
The-CNN-Wire
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