President-elect Donald Trump made a shock pick — and one notably different from his previous administrators — to lead his deregulatory charge at EPA.
Former Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-N.Y.) hails from a blue state, acknowledges climate change and partnered with environmental groups while in Congress. He did not make his name as a frequent litigator against EPA, like Scott Pruitt, nor has he spent his career learning the ins and outs of the agency, like Andrew Wheeler.
Zeldin, if confirmed, will be tasked with pulling back EPA regulations dealing with power plants and auto emissions issued by the outgoing Biden administration. He will also be expected to reshape the agency and constrain its reach — something Trump’s allies have been itching to do since the president-elect was last in office.
“I was surprised that Trump picked Zeldin for EPA, but I was not at all surprised that he would choose him for an important deregulatory position,” Myron Ebell, who led Trump’s first EPA transition team, told POLITICO’s E&E News.
