Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin on Monday announced the closure of the $4 million agency museum built by the Biden administration.
Zeldin referred to the one-room, 1,595-square-foot facility as one of former President Joe Biden’s failed “pet projects,” noting that during its nine months of operations, it saw fewer than 2,000 external visitors.
‘The museum closure represents just one step in our broader commitment to transparency and fiscal responsibility.’
While admission was free to the public, he stated that each visitor cost taxpayers $315.
The museum is located at the EPA’s Washington, D.C., headquarters and opened in May 2024. Despite its small size, the facility cost $4 million to open and costs another $600,000 annually.
Zeldin shared a video on X giving a tour of the museum and explaining the decision to shut it down.
He stated that a timeline featured in the museum “conveniently omits” President Donald Trump’s first administration. A separate video showed a gap in the timeline between 2014 and 2021.
“This agency has been spending $123,000 on cleaning, $207,000 for security, $54,000 on maintenance, and an additional $54,000 on storage,” Zeldin said. “From May 2024 through last month, only 1,909 members of the public visited the museum. Even though it is free admission, this museum costs you, the taxpayer, $315 per external visitor.”
He described it as a “shrine to [environmental justice] and climate change.”
“Under President Trump, we are ending the practice of burning tax dollars on pet projects,” Zeldin declared.
In a Monday op-ed on Fox News, Zeldin stated that he has terminated Biden-era spending that will save taxpayers $22 billion.
Zeldin noted that the money allocated toward the “scarcely visited” museum could have been used by the Biden administration to provide “clean air, land, and water to forgotten communities.”
“The museum closure represents just one step in our broader commitment to transparency and fiscal responsibility,” Zeldin wrote. “This isn’t about diminishing our commitment to environmental protection; it’s about enhancing it through responsible stewardship of taxpayer dollars. The days of unchecked spending on monuments to the egos of the left are over. Under our leadership, fiscal responsibility and mission focus will guide every decision. The American people deserve nothing less.”
Additionally, Zeldin announced on Tuesday that the EPA would be moving out of its D.C. headquarters.
“EPA will be saving American taxpayers $18 MILLION in annual lease costs by moving staff out of the 323,000 square feet of space we occupy in the Ronald Reagan building in D.C.,” he stated.
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