Zeldin, a 44-year-old lawyer and former Army lieutenant, has no background in environmental policy. He entered politics in 2011 through the New York State Senate and served until 2014. That year, he was elected as the U.S. Representative for the state's 1st Congressional District, which includes most of Long Island.
As a Congressman, Zeldin did not serve on any subcommittee overseeing environmental policy. He regularly voted against progressive climate and environmental policies, earning him lifetime points only 14 percent From the League of Conservation Voters, an advocacy group that tracks Congress members' positions on environmental legislation. In 2020, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, he voted against an amendment to block the EPA from finalizing a Trump-era soot standard that would expose communities of color to additional air pollution, the study said. have linked For increase in Covid mortality rate. Ultimately the amendment was passed.
In 2021, Zeldin voted against a bill It would require public companies to disclose information about the climate risks of their business models. That bill was also passed. The following year, he supported a failed bill This would cancel US participation in the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, a process that encourages international coordination on climate policy and includes participation Annual United Nations Climate Conference,
In particular, Zeldin voted in favor One bill would require the EPA to set a drinking water standard for PFAS and PFOA, so-called “forever chemicals” that accumulate in the environment and are linked to many types of cancer and other serious health problems. Last year, a local news station learned that There are traces of these chemicals in 33 of Long Island's 48 water districts In their drinking water.
In 2022, Zeldin ran for Governor of New York and lost to Hochul.
Zeldin's appointment marks a departure from current EPA Administrator Michael Regan, whose tenure will end when Trump takes office in January. Unlike Zeldin, Regan's background is in environmental science, and before being nominated as Administrator he served as Secretary of North Carolina's Department of Environmental Quality and as an air quality specialist at the EPA. As EPA Administrator, she has overseen the Biden Administration's historic effort toward environmental justice, including community engagement sessions, strengthening national standards for particulate matter, and an overhaul of regulations for many chemical plants.
It remains to be seen to what extent Regan's initiatives and rules will endure into the years of the second Trump administration. Zeldin's nomination will be confirmed by a vote of the Senate, which won the Republican majority in elections earlier this month.
If confirmed, Zeldin will have considerable power to shape the national direction of climate and environmental policy. He will also oversee the implementation of current environmental laws and regulations in addition to Tasked with preparing EPA's annual budgetWhich determines how much money will be allocated for efforts such as state oversight and aerial surveillance. A more fossil fuel-inclined administrator could choose to eliminate these parts of the agency, enabling industry-friendly state agencies like the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality or the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to regulate in the dark.
Trump ran on a platform that prioritized minimizing regulatory oversight and maximizing fossil fuel production. Zeldin's appointment will be crucial to accomplishing this.