President-elect Donald J. Trump announced on Monday that he will nominate former Rep. Lee Zeldin, Republican of New York, to lead the Environmental Protection Agency, a position that is expected to be central to Mr. Trump’s plans to dismantle landmark climate regulations.
Mr. Trump campaigned on pledges to “kill” and “cancel” E.P.A. rules and regulations to combat global warming by restricting fossil fuel pollution from vehicle tailpipes, power plant smokestacks and oil and gas wells. In particular, Mr. Trump wants to erase the most significant rule designed to speed up a transition away from gasoline-powered cars and toward electric vehicles.
A former congressman from Long Island who ran unsuccessfully for governor in 2022, Mr. Zeldin, 44, is an avid Trump supporter who voted against certifying the results of the 2020 election.
“It is an honor to join President Trump’s Cabinet as EPA Administrator,” Mr. Zeldin wrote on X. “We will restore US energy dominance, revitalize our auto industry to bring back American jobs, and make the US the global leader of AI. We will do so while protecting access to clean air and water.”
In a statement, Mr. Trump said Mr. Zeldin would “ensure fair and swift deregulatory decisions that will be enacted in a way to unleash the power of American businesses, while at the same time maintaining the highest environmental standards, including the cleanest air and water on the planet.”
Mr. Trump added that Mr. Zeldin would “set new standards on environmental review and maintenance, that will allow the United States to grow in a healthy and well-structured way.”
Michael McKenna, who worked in the first Trump administration on energy issues said as two New Yorkers, Mr. Trump and Mr. Zeldin “speak the same language.”
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