Former congressman Lee Zeldin is President-Elect Donald Trump’s pick to head the EPA, a surprising choice to some local environmentalists who hope the Suffolk County native will prioritize the environment over corporate interests.
Zeldin announced the nomination on X, formerly Twitter, with a promise to “restore U.S. energy dominance, revitalize our auto industry,” and to make America the “global leader of AI.”
Like other Trump Cabinet picks, the nomination is an unexpected choice among industry-experts who believe the former congressman and gubernatorial candidate isn’t well known for his environmental and climate experience.
The League of Conservation Voters rates Zeldin’s lifetime environmental legislation score at 14 percent, meaning that from 2015 through 2022, Zeldin voted against “pro-environment” bills roughly 86 percent of the time.
But for executive director of the Citizens Campaign for the Environment, Adrienne Esposito, Zeldin’s nomination could be a good sign for Long Islanders. Esposito recalled when Zeldin hosted a packed public meeting in 2018 to hear Long Islanders’ concerns about opening the coast to oil drilling.
“We had 200 people show up to this public hearing in the middle of a nor’easter on a Friday afternoon, and the public said no, and the plan was canceled,” said Esposito. “We are hoping, and we need Zeldin to not go back on his past performance.”
Zeldin was also among around 20 House Republicans who crossed party lines to vote in favor of legislation limiting forever chemicals, PFAS, from drinking water in 2021. And Zeldin championed the Plum Island Preservation Act in 2017, which would have halted privately selling the island. While the Senate soon rejected the bill, a new version of the legislation is back up for debate in Congress.
In recent years though, Zeldin has voiced support for expanding fossil fuel production in New York State, saying in his 2022 run for Governor that New York State should expand natural gas and oil production, both major contributors to greenhouse gas emissions that cause climate change.
Zeldin’s promise to make America the global leader in artificial intelligence also raises environmental concerns to Esposito. Computer servers processing AI search requests use more energy to process results, and according to Goldman Sachs, a ChatGPT search requires around ten times as much electricity as a Google Search.
“AI is extremely energy demanding, so to make America the leader in AI, we’re going to [have to] make America the leader in renewable energy production,” Esposito said.
Executive director of Save the Great South Bay, Robyn Silvestri, is excited to have local representation at the national level for environmental policy and hopes that Zeldin and the incoming Trump administration take the environment seriously.
“The environment is a bipartisan issue, and we hope that any decisions that are made going forward to stimulate the economy or make us more [energy] independent are done with the environment at the forefront of all decision making,” Silvestri said.
Zeldin declined to comment.
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