EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin told agency staffers he was committed to protecting the environment as well as the economy and looked forward to working together “to tackle the most-pressing issues facing our country.”
Zeldin sent an agencywide email to staff Thursday morning, his first as the head of EPA. His message comes during a turbulent time for the agency, which has been rocked by President Donald Trump’s moves to shrink the federal workforce and pause government funding in just over a week in office.
Zeldin, who served eight years as a New York Republican lawmaker, touted his record on Capitol Hill in the email obtained by POLITICO’s E&E News.
“My district, on the eastern end of Long Island, was unique in that it was almost completely surrounded by water,” Zeldin said. “My constituents took environmental issues very seriously, and I developed a record in Congress fighting hard and with great success advancing their local priorities.”