On January 29, 2025, the Senate voted to confirm former New York Rep. Lee Zeldin as EPA Administrator. Zeldin is a 44-year-old attorney who represented New York's 1st Congressional District from 2015-2023. During his congressional tenure, Zeldin was known for his experience in international affairs, and his nomination for EPA Administrator was unexpected due to his limited experience with environmental policy issues.
In November 2024, then President-elect Donald Trump announced his selection of Lee Zeldin to serve as EPA Administrator, stating that 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." Following his selection, Zeldin stated in a post on social media: "It is an honor to join President Trump's Cabinet as EPA Administrator. We will restore U.S. energy dominance, revitalize our auto industry to bring back American jobs, and make the U.S. the global leader of AI. We will do so while protecting access to clean air and water."
Both President Trump's and Zeldin's comments shed light on the Administration's vision for the EPA over the next four years, which includes the pursuit of a deregulatory agenda and the potential scaling back of environmental policies and regulations from the Biden administration. Notable points from the nomination hearing include Zeldin's indication that he would not be eliminating EPA's enforcement office and that he will be honoring the U.S. Supreme Court's recent Loper Bright decision in ensuring that EPA actions comport with congressional intent. Other major energy and environmental issues that the agency seeks to tackle under Zeldin's leadership include permitting reform aimed at increasing domestic energy production and reassessment of EPA's currently existing finding that greenhouses gases endanger public health.
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