LINCOLN, Neb. (DTN) -- Lee Zeldin has been selected as the next administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, President-elect Donald Trump announced on Monday.

Zeldin is a former Republican congressman from New York's 1st Congressional District, who served from 2015 to 2023. In 2022, Zeldin announced his candidacy for governor of New York and became the Republican nominee, eventually losing the election to Gov. Kathy Hochul.

"It is an honor to join President Trump's Cabinet as EPA Administrator," Zeldin said in a post on social platform 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."

The Suffolk County, New York, native became the youngest attorney in New York State at the time, at age 23.

Zeldin served four years on active duty in the U.S. Army, where he held roles as a military intelligence officer, prosecutor and military magistrate.

In 2006, he deployed to Iraq with the 82nd Airborne Division as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Today, he continues his service as a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army Reserve.

In 2010, Zeldin was elected to the New York State Senate where he served until 2014 when he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives.

Zeldin served on the House Foreign Affairs Committee and the House Financial Services Committee. As one of two Jewish Republicans in Congress, he co-chaired the House Republican Israel Caucus.

In addition, Zeldin was a member of the Climate Solutions Caucus that launched in 2016.

"Lee, with a very strong legal background, has been a true fighter for America First policies," Trump said in a statement.

"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. 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."

As a member of Congress, Zeldin's environmental record is scant, although he worked to help shield Long Island from dredge waste.

Perhaps most notably, Zeldin said in April 2018 that he did not support the Paris Agreement in its then-current form. Trump has indicated he would pull the U.S. out of the Paris Agreement.

He expressed concern about "other countries that are contributing to very adverse impacts on our climate but not having the level of responsibility that they need to have in stepping up and making a positive change in their own countries," according to an April 25, 2018, story by Bloomberg.

Todd Neeley can be reached at todd.neeley@dtn.com

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