Just days after former President and now president-elect Donald J. Trump won a decisive victory over current Vice President Kamala Harris, the individual components of his administration are starting to come together.
While it has been teased that Tesla (TSLA) CEO Elon Musk could have a place in the Trump White House in a rumored, so-called ‘Department of Government Efficiency,’ many Trump loyalists have already been handpicked for important roles within the last few days.
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These nominations include notorious anti-immigration hawk Stephen Miller and Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) for deputy chief of staff for policy and U.N. Ambassador, respectively.
However, if confirmed to a Trump Administration role, one key nomination could severely impact the auto industry as it would set back environmental protections and roll back EV-friendly legislation made within the past few years.
Former Representative Lee Zeldin, a Republican from New York, center, speaks as Representative Elise Stefanik, a Republican from New York, left, stands with former President-elect Donald Trump, Jan. 19, 2024.
Donald Trump’s man for the EPA: Lee Zeldin
On Nov. 11, the President-elect said on social media that he will appoint former Congressman Lee Zeldin, a noted anti-environmental hardliner, as the head of the Environmental Protection Agency.
In a post on his social media platform Truth Social, Trump characterized the Long Islander as someone with a “very strong legal background” and “a true fighter for America First policies.”
“He will 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,” Trump said. “He will set new standards on environmental review and maintenance that will allow the United States to grow in a healthy and well-structured way.”
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Trump’s EPA game plan is deregulation.
Though Trump has denied and denounced any involvement with the Heritage Foundation’s controversial Project 2025, the nearly 900-page Mandate for Leadership echoes his desire to reverse all of Biden’s regulations intended to control the effects of climate change, cut the country’s carbon emissions, and lower Americans’ dependence on burning fossil fuels beginning on his first day in office.
In the big playbook, the current EPA under the Biden Administration is characterized by section author and former Trump EPA appointee Mandy M. Gunasekara as a “breeding ground” where “costly policies that otherwise have failed to gain the requisite political traction in Congress” evade Congressional approval and create a space where actions are “led by activism” and “generate uncertainty.”
“Although the U.S. environmental story is very positive, there has been a return to fear-based rhetoric within the agency, especially as it pertains to the perceived threat of climate change,” they said.
“Mischaracterizing the state of our environment generally and the actual harms reasonably attributable to climate change specifically is a favored tool that the Left uses to scare the American public into accepting their ineffective, liberty-crushing regulations, diminished private property rights, and exorbitant costs. In effect, the Biden EPA has once again presented a false choice to the American people: that they have to choose between a healthy environment and a strong, growing economy.”
MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN – JULY 17: Former Rep. Lee Zeldin speaks on stage on the third day of the Republican National Convention. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
Zeldin, the [anti] environmentalist
Though it was hinted at in Trump’s social media post, Zeldin’s political past as a staunch anti-environmentalist may have been the deciding factor in his appointment.
From 2015 to 2023, he was a House member representing the State of New York’s first congressional district, encompassing much of Long Island, including the Hamptons. During his time in office, he was a mixed bag who supported various renewable energy policies, such as solar and offshore wind.
However, he also penned his opposition to key climate change legislation. According to The League of Conservation Voters, which gave him a measly 14% score on his environmental record, Zeldin frequently voted against the Clean Air Act despite the fact that Suffolk County, part of his home district, has some of the worst air quality in New York.
But, his most notorious vote came when he voted along party lines against the Inflation Reduction Act, the legislation behind the Clean Vehicle Credit, which allows $7,500 in Federal tax credits to be used to purchase a new electric vehicle.
In 2018, he defended then-President Trump’s infamous exit from the Paris Climate Agreement in 2017, telling Bloomberg that the US shouldn’t rejoin as the agreement “currently stands,” noting that the level of commitment it and other countries have is not “equal.”
“So when you look at the Paris deal as was agreed upon, unfortunately it’s not anywhere close to a level playing field and nations were signing up to very different commitments,” Zeldin said back in 2018 after French President Emanuel Macron addressed Congress.
“I think the Paris deal as is, nothing changes. None of those other large countries changing their behavior and improving their commitment, I would not agree that we would be rejoining that Paris climate deal as is.”
According to publicly available information that can be accessed on OpenSecrets.org, Zeldin received a total of $269,608 in campaign contributions from the Oil and Gas industries throughout his Congressional career.
Another of Hochul’s out-of-touch ideas is to force NYers to only buy electric cars. She signed a bill that would ban the sale of cars with combustion engines by 2035. What does she have to say to the swath of everyday NYers who can’t afford or just don’t want an electric car?
— Lee Zeldin (@leezeldin) January 26, 2022
In addition to his tenure in the House, Zeldin expressed anti-climate rhetoric during his failed run for the Governor of New York. In a social media post, he criticized his incumbent opponent, Kathy Hochul’s decision to join the California Air Resource Board’s Zero Emission Vehicle program, which aims to end the sale of gasoline-powered only vehicles by 2035.
Government officials, including Trump, have previously decried this rule as “Biden’s EV mandate” and private individuals like, Toyota North America COO Jack Hollis, have said it’s “impossible” to achieve.
“Another of Hochul’s out-of-touch ideas is to force NYers to only buy electric cars. She signed a bill that would ban the sale of cars with combustion engines by 2035,” Zeldin said on X in 2022. “What does she have to say to the swath of everyday NYers who can’t afford or just don’t want an electric car?”
In an appearance on Fox News shortly after his appointment was announced, Zeldin told host Martha MacCallum that he was excited to be appointed. He also said that he plans to “unleash” the EPA’s regulatory ability in order to pursue “energy dominance” as well as “bringing back jobs to the auto industry.”
Despite mentioning that the president-elect has a “desire” to ensure access to clean air and clean water as a “top priority,” he expressed an eagerness to roll back environmental regulations that he feels are holding American businesses back.
“There are regulations that the left wing of this country have been advocating through regulatory power that causes businesses to go in the wrong direction,” Zeldin told Fox.
“[…] It’s something that he deeply believes in; this is going to be a great four years for America. It’s not just a great day one or the first 100 days. We are on the verge of the best four years of any President in the White House.”
Environmental groups decry Zeldin, Trump
Zeldin’s appointment has been met with resistance from notable environmental groups.
In a statement, Manish Bapna, the president of the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) noted that Trump’s choice to lead the EPA will stunt the progress that the Biden administration already make, which includes “160 electric vehicle projects totaling $82 billion in investment announced in just the past two years.”
“Repealing these policies, as Trump has said he’ll do, would devastate the industry in a moment of critical transition, threatening jobs, increasing tailpipe pollution that’s wrecking the climate and driving up consumer costs,” Bapna said.
“We need EPA leadership that will protect the environment and public health. That’s a big enough job without looking outside the agency’s charge.”
In a separate statement, Sierra Club Executive Director Ben Jealous decried Zeldin’s Fox News appearance, calling him a “sellout” to Trump’s corporate oligarchs.
“Naming an unqualified, anti-American worker who opposes efforts to safeguard our clean air and water lays bare Donald Trump’s intentions to, once again, sell our health, our communities, our jobs, and our future out to corporate polluters,” said Jealous. “Our lives, our livelihoods, and our collective future cannot afford Lee Zeldin – or anyone who seeks to carry out a mission antithetical to the EPA’s mission.”
As he is still nominated, Lee Zeldin will have to face confirmation by the U.S. Senate before being named EPA administrator.
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