President-elect Donald Trump is tapping Lee Zeldin, a former Long Island member of Congress who lost as the Republican candidate in the 2022 gubernatorial race against Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul, to head the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Zeldin is now the second New Yorker Trump has picked to serve in his Cabinet, alongside Rep. Elise Stefanik, who represents an upstate district and was named as the president-elect’s choice for U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. Both positions require Senate confirmation.
The New York Post first reported the news about Zeldin on Monday afternoon. Both Trump and Zeldin released statements confirming his nomination shortly thereafter.
“I have known Lee Zeldin for a long time, and have watched him handle, brilliantly, some extremely difficult and complex situations,” Trump said. He added that Zeldin would “ensure fair and swift deregulatory decisions” favorable to business while “maintaining the highest environmental standards.”
Zeldin said on the social media platform X that he wanted to “restore U.S. energy dominance, revitalize our auto industry to bring back American jobs, and make the U.S. the global leader of A.I.,” or artificial intelligence technology.
Although he lost to Hochul in 2022, Zeldin is credited with helping flip multiple suburban House districts in New York through his campaign that year, leading to the current Republican majority in the House. Prior to representing the 1st Congressional District on Eastern Long Island from 2015 to 2023, Zeldin served as a member of the state Senate representing the 3rd District.
Stefanik represents the 21st Congressional District from Albany to the Canadian border and currently serves as House Republican Conference chair, making her the fourth-ranking House Republican. Like Zeldin, she has long been a loyal ally to Trump.
