NEW YORK (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump on Monday named former Rep. Lee Zeldin to lead the Environmental Protection Agency as he continues to build his future administration with loyal supporters.

Trump said in a statement that Zeldin, who made an unsuccessful bid to become governor of New York in 2022, would “ensure fair and swift deregulation decisions that will be made in a way that will unleash the power of American corporations, while at the same time maintaining the highest environmental standards, including the cleanest air and water on the planet.”

Zeldin, who left Congress in 2023, was among Republicans in Congress who voted against certifying the 2020 election results. While in Congress, he did not serve on any committees overseeing environmental policy.

In 2016, he pushed to change the designation of about 150 square miles of federal waters in Long Island Sound into state jurisdiction for New York and Rhode Island. He wanted to open the area to fishing for striped bass, which is allowed in state waters but prohibited in federal waters.

Trump often pointed to Zeldin’s performance in the 2022 gubernatorial race — where the Republican did much better than expected against Gov. Kathy Hochul — as he insisted he could be competitive in his Democratic home state. Although Trump did not win New York, he did much better than in previous elections, especially in the Bronx, Brooklyn and Queens.

The announcement comes after Trump selected former adviser Stephen Miller, an immigration hardliner, as deputy chief policy officer in his new administration and named Representative Elise Stefanik as his nominee for U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.

Confirming Miller’s appointment, Vice President-elect JD Vance posted a congratulatory message on X on Monday, saying, “This is another fantastic choice by the President.” The announcement was first reported by CNN.

Miller is one of Trump’s longest-serving aides, dating back to his first campaign for the White House. He was a senior adviser during Trump’s first term and played a central role in many of his policy decisions, particularly on immigration, including Trump’s move to separate thousands of immigrant families as a deterrent program in 2018.

Miller also helped shape many of Trump’s tough speeches, and was often the public face of those policies during Trump’s first term and during his campaigns.

Since leaving the White House, Miller has been president of America First Legal, an organization of former Trump advisers styled as a conservative version of the American Civil Liberties Union, which challenges the Biden administration, media companies, universities and others over issues such as freedom of expression and religion and national security.

He was also a regular presence during Trump’s campaign this year, traveling aboard his plane and often speaking before Trump during pre-shows at his rallies.

Miller drew big cheers at Trump’s rally at Madison Square Garden during the final stretch of the race, telling the crowd that “your salvation is near” after what he called “decades of abuse heaped upon the good people of this country . – their jobs are looted and stolen from them and shipped to Mexico, Asia and abroad. The lives of their loved ones are being taken from them by illegal aliens, criminal gangs and criminals who do not belong in this country.

“We stand here today at a crossroads,” he continued, calling the election “a choice between betrayal and renewal, between self-destruction and redemption, between America’s failure or America’s triumph.”

Because it is not a cabinet position, the appointment does not require Senate confirmation. ___ Associated Press writers Matthew Daly and Zeke Miller in Washington and Jill Colvin in New York contributed to this report.