Aides from Lee Zeldin’s campaigns and time on Capitol Hill are ensconced at EPA, with some even taking on multiple jobs at the agency.
With staffers for the administrator in place at key spots, Zeldin’s loyal cadre can keep an eye on the agency as well as prepare for his ambitions beyond EPA.
POLITICO’s E&E News reviewed calendars, personnel data and resumes obtained under the Freedom of Information Act to find who from “Team Zeldin” is now on EPA’s payroll. There were roughly a dozen agency officials with ties to the former New York Republican congressman’s political world.
Kevin Dowling, who served as Zeldin’s legislative director on Capitol Hill, said several of the EPA administrator’s campaign and congressional aides are from or have family from Long Island, which Zeldin represented in Congress for eight years and where he grew up.
“These are battle-tested folks. When you are working in a front-line office, when every two years is a tight election, you learn so much as a staffer,” Dowling said. “There is a real camaraderie and loyalty there.”
A significant campaign contributor to Zeldin also landed at EPA last year.
John Thaler, founder and CEO of hedge fund JAT Capital Management, was named senior adviser for the Office of the Chief Financial Officer. Thaler was an “active donor and supporter of President Trump and members of his administration,” according to his resume.
Federal and state contribution records back up that claim. Thaler gave $75,000 to Trump’s 2024 presidential bid and $16,800 to Zeldin’s congressional campaigns. He also donated $60,829, the maximum amount allowed, to the administrator’s 2022 gubernatorial campaign and $219,000 to accounts for the New York Republican State Committee.
Thaler served at EPA for just over two months, from June to August 2025, according to agency data.
Richard Painter, once the chief White House ethics lawyer for former President George W. Bush, said administrations of both parties often hire political contributors.
“The president’s donors often get high-level jobs in a presidential administration, although it is less usual for a Cabinet officer or other high-ranking official to hire donors from his own political campaigns to agency jobs,” said Painter, now a University of Minnesota law professor. “This is one more way in which money in politics influences who is running our government.”
In response to questions for this story, EPA spokesperson Brigit Hirsch said, “John joined the agency on a temporary basis, benefiting EPA with his auditing expertise in the Office of the Chief Financial Officer.”
Emails sent to Thaler’s firm requesting comment were not returned.
Thaler appears several times in Zeldin’s official calendar.
In March last year, before Thaler started at EPA, there was a “Meeting w/ John Thaler.” Eric Amidon, EPA’s chief of staff as well as Zeldin’s former congressional chief of staff and campaign manager for the gubernatorial race, was listed as an attendee, too.
Amidon signed a personnel record for Thaler as his “immediate supervisor” at the agency. That record also indicated Thaler was required to file a financial disclosure report, known as an OGE-278.
POLITICO’s E&E News requested that report and other documents for Thaler from EPA’s Ethics Office but was told there were no records. The agency’s statement didn’t address why Thaler didn’t file a financial disclosure report.
Thaler is mentioned elsewhere in Zeldin’s official calendar. He is included as an attendee for a lunch with the administrator at the White House’s Navy Mess. Thaler also pops up in meetings described as check ins and briefings on “GRRF,” short for the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund.
The Trump administration is pushing to pull back $20 billion in climate grants from the fund, which was created by the Inflation Reduction Act. Environmental groups and the agency are now fighting in court over that money.
‘The inside political team’
Stan Meiburg, who served 39 years at EPA, said it was common for administrators to bring on board former aides. Sometimes, that inner circle can close ranks and view the rest of the agency as “the enemy.”
“Past experience suggests this is a path to poor outcomes and an unhappy tenure,” said Meiburg, who was acting deputy administrator during the Obama administration. “On the other hand, if the inside political team takes the time to recognize the talent and insight of career staff, seeks their input on policy choices, and treats them with respect, very effective partnerships can result even when there is disagreement about the merits of policy outcomes.”
During the first Trump administration, EPA chief Scott Pruitt brought over a posse of former staff from his time as Oklahoma attorney general. Further, several aides for the late Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) joined the agency, including those who had worked with Andrew Wheeler, who was initially deputy administrator and then administrator.
In addition, North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality officials came with Michael Regan when he took charge of EPA during the Biden administration.
Zeldin’s staff tend to stick with him, too, according to a former congressional aide.
“Lee is a charismatic guy. He is good at what he does. That inspires the people behind him,” said the ex-staffer, who was granted anonymity to speak freely. “The flip side of that is loyalty is a tremendous premium.”
Some EPA staff connected to New York politics are now taking on multiple jobs.
Thomas Croci is the head of EPA’s national security office and acting assistant administrator for the solid waste office. Croci’s resume includes stints in the Defense Department and the White House, and he was a former New York state senator and district director for Zeldin when he was a state senator.
Mike Martucci is Region 2 administrator, overseeing EPA operations in the Northeast, as well as acting Region 9 administrator, managing the Pacific Southwest, according to the agency’s website. Martucci once was a New York state senator.
Vanessa Martins, chief of staff in Region 2, also had a stint as an environmental policy intern in the New York state Senate.
Dowling said the ethos of Zeldin’s staff is hard work for constituents back home. “We’re not here to have fun and go to Bullfeathers,” he said, referring to the Capitol Hill restaurant and bar frequented by congressional staff.
Dowling remembers after the 2018 midterm elections when Zeldin won his race though the GOP lost control of the House.
“I was so grateful that I worked for an office that worked 10 times harder than everyone else. We had something to show for it, which is we made it back alive,” he said.
Sarah Talmage is associate administrator for congressional and intergovernmental relations at EPA. She came from the Council of Insurance Agents & Brokers but also had been legislative director for Zeldin.
Ashley Brown was an executive assistant and finance administrator for Zeldin when he was a congressman. She is now director of scheduling in the EPA administrator’s office, her LinkedIn profile indicated.
Jacob Murphy is a senior adviser for external affairs at EPA. He was communications director for Zeldin in the House.
Daniel Gall has held several positions with the administrator, including communications director for “Team Zeldin” and studio operator at LMZ Studios, where he built a television studio for remote broadcast interviews, according to his resume. At EPA, he is special adviser for strategic and regional communications.
Ben Weiner is deputy chief of staff for operations at EPA, according to his LinkedIn profile. He was deputy press secretary for Zeldin’s gubernatorial campaign.
Also, Jaide Barja, formerly a legislative assistant to Zeldin, is now a senior adviser at the agency. Thomas Corlett, another EPA senior adviser, was political director for “Team Zeldin,” his resume said.
“Administrator Zeldin has hired some of the best and most dedicated staff over the years,” said Hirsch with EPA. “Many of them have remained with him and it is a true testament to the team he has built.”
Meiburg said administrators need close aides at EPA, especially those at the top level.
“Every administrator had chiefs of staff with whom they had long relationships and in whom they had confidence,” he said. “Indeed, no one could perform that kind of job successfully without that kind of relationship.”
On where Zeldin goes after EPA, Dowling said “having a core group of loyal, smart people who know policy, know politics will serve you well wherever you go.”
He added, “It goes both ways because having strong leadership is what keeps that group together.”
The former congressional aide said Zeldin highly values an inner circle of trusted people around him, which could guide his next move.
Zeldin’s time as EPA administrator “is not the last stop for him,” they said.
Timothy Cama and Scott Waldman contributed to this report.
Contact Kevin Bogardus on the encrypted messaging app Signal at KevinBogardus.89.
