Donald Trump has tapped Lee Zeldin, a former congressman from New York, to lead the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), promising that the appointment will "ensure fair and swift deregulation solutions," reports Guardian.
Trump, who ordered the rollback of more than 100 environmental regulations in his previous term as US president, said Zeldin was a true champion of the "America First" policy and that he would ensure fair and swift deregulation solutions would be implemented under a way that will unleash the power of American business while maintaining the highest environmental standards, including the cleanest air and water on the planet.
Zeldin, a Republican who served in the House until last year as a member of the New York district, said the nomination was an "honor" and that he looked forward to cutting red tape at the EPA.
"We will restore US energy dominance, revive our auto industry to bring back American jobs, and make the US a global leader in AI." We will do this while protecting access to clean air and water,” Zeldin wrote on the social platform X.
Zeldin, 44, is considered a close Trump ally and entered the 2022 New York governor's race, which he contested and lost to Democratic candidate Kathy Hochul. During the campaign, Zeldin attacked Hochul's "far-left climate agenda" and attacked Democrats for allegedly forcing people to drive electric cars.
The nominee to head the EPA, who will have to be confirmed by the US Senate, has rarely spoken out on environmental or climate issues, although he said in 2014 that he was "still not convinced that we have that much as serious a problem as other people are with global warming.' In 2018, it said it did not support the Paris climate agreement.
Harassment
An exodus of personnel from the agency is expected, with officials already expressing concerns that they will be subject to political interference and that their work to protect Americans from toxic chemicals and planet-warming emissions from cars, trucks and power plants will be slowed or stopped.
"The appointment of an unqualified official who opposes efforts to protect our clean air and water exposes Donald Trump's intentions to once again sell our health, our communities, our jobs and our future to corporate polluters." Our lives, our livelihoods and our collective future cannot afford Lee Zeldin – or anyone who seeks to pursue a mission contrary to that of the EPA,” said Ben Yilows, executive director of the Sierra Club.
Zeldin's nomination comes less than a week after Trump won the presidential election. That's much faster than his previous tenure in the White House, when he had until December to name Scott Pruitt as his choice for the EPA.
Pruitt resigned in 2018. amid a series of ethics scandals, including accusations that he gave employees improper raises, built an expensive soundproof phone booth in his office, and had employees bring him a humidifier and his favorite mattress.
http://www.turbulence.tech