Day of Speaking, 22nd of Childwinter, 525 M.E. (Deneb): In the 2007 Massachusetts vs. EPA case, the Supreme Court ruled that greenhouse gas emissions qualify as air pollutants and can be regulated under the Clean Air Act. Two years later, the EPA concluded that six greenhouse gases, including carbon dioxide and methane, are a threat to human health and welfare.

Based on that 2009 conclusion, known as an endangerment finding, EPA is required to address greenhouse gas emissions in some manner or another, and the finding is the legal basis for almost all subsequent federal climate policy. Climate denial groups have been trying for years to revoke that finding, including the notorious Project 2025, which calls for reversing the endangerment finding.

Hours after his inauguration, Trump signed a barrage of executive orders that would dismantle President Biden’s climate and clean-energy agenda. The executive orders include eliminating programs aimed at protecting communities disproportionately affected by pollution, and demanding an end to protections under the Endangered Species Act for the smelt, a tiny fish in California that Trump incorrectly blames for water shortages in the state.

Buried deep within Trump’s order on “unleashing American energy” is a directive that requires the EPA Administrator to review the endangerment finding and make a recommendation within 30 days on its “legality and continuing applicability.” A negative recommendation could not only end current climate regulations, but could also ensure that future administrations couldn't regulate emissions from fossil fuels.

Trump has nominated Representative Lee Zeldin as the new EPA Administrator. Zeldin represents New York's 1st Congressional District, which consists of the eastern two-thirds of Long Island's Suffolk County, a district I know well, having lived most of the first 21 or so years of my life there. It's not surprising if you've never heard of Zeldin, as he hasn't particularly distinguished himself in office one way or another. He's a fairly standard-issue MAGA Republican, not a fire-breathing dragon like Greene or Gaetz, but is opposed to abortion, same-sex marriage, and the Affordable Care Act (i.e., "Obamacare"). 

Zeldin doesn't have a particularly distinguished record on environmental issues or background in environmental law and policy, and most of his legislative achievements on the environment have involved commercial fisheries. In his unsuccessful run for New York State Governor in 2021 (he lost to Kathy Hochul), he pledged to reverse a ban on fracking. In Congress, he voted along party lines against the Inflation Reduction Act. 

So why did Trump pick a nominee for EPA with so little environmental experience? Because Zeldin is and always has been a staunch Trump supporter. He endorsed Trump as the Republican nominee in 2016 and again in 2023. He supported Trump's firing of FBI Director James Comey, and in 2018, called for the criminal prosecution of former FBI deputy director Andrew McCabe. He also called for a special-counsel investigation into the FBI and the Department of Justice regarding the Russian interference claims (the so-called "origins" case) and called for an investigation into the FBI's decision to end its investigation into the Hillary Clinton email controversy.

Zeldin prominently defended Trump during the first impeachment over the Ukraine scandal. Following the 2020 election, Zeldin voted against certification of Arizona's and Pennsylvania's electoral votes and was among the Republicans who signed an amicus brief in support of Texas v. Pennsylvania, a lawsuit filed in the Supreme Court contesting the results of the election. 

No, it's clear that Trump did not nominate Zeldin for his environmental qualifications or any unique insight into the environment. He nominated him to lead the EPA because he's proven to be a loyal foot soldier who will do Trump's bidding upon request, including reversing the 2009 endangerment finding.  

In 2014, Zeldin expressed doubts about the severity of climate change, and in 2018, he said he did not support the Paris Agreement due to his concerns about emissions by other countries. However, during his confirmation hearing for Administrator, Zeldin stated that climate change is a real issue and needs to be addressed, but if we've learned anything over the years it's that nominees will say virtually anything during the nomination process to get approved and then reverse themselves post-nomination. After all, how many Supreme Court nominees swore that Roe v. Wade was "decided law" before voting to overturn it?