President-elect Donald Trump announced Monday that former New York Rep. Lee Zeldin will lead the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) during his second term as president.

Zeldin, a 44-year-old Republican who made an unsuccessful bid to become governor of New York in 2022 and left Congress in 2023, will “ensure fair and swift deregulatory decisions that will be made in a way to curb the power of American corporations unleash. Trump said in a statement.

Zeldin, a longtime opponent of climate regulation, will also “maintain the highest environmental standards, including the cleanest air and water on the planet,” Trump said. The statement misidentified the EPA as the Environmental Protective Agency.

Zeldin has expressed mixed views on climate change and environmental policy throughout his political career. While he has supported a number of renewable energy initiatives, such as expanding tax breaks for solar investments and exploring the potential of offshore wind power, his overall environmental record has drawn criticism.

While in Congress, he did not serve on any committees overseeing environmental policy and had a 14 percent lifetime rating with the League of Conservation Voters, an environmental advocacy group, during his eight years in Congress.

In 2020, the LCV gave him a score of 24 percent, well below average for New York representatives. The LCV also noted that Zeldin often voted against the Clean Air Act, even though Suffolk County has some of the worst air quality in New York.

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

Zeldin co-sponsored the Carbon Capture Improvement Act to encourage carbon capture technology, but also faced opposition from voices seen as pro-fossil fuel industry and against stricter environmental regulations.

Critics highlight his lack of support for key climate and conservation legislation, such as measures to phase out harmful fishing gear and expand protection of natural areas.

However, Zeldin has pointed to his efforts in securing funding for projects such as cleaning up Long Island Sound and opposing offshore drilling as examples of his commitment to local environmental issues.

During the 2022 gubernatorial race, Zeldin promised to overturn a fracking ban imposed by Democrats.

In an interview Monday on Fox News, Zeldin said he would try to ensure that the United States could “pursue energy dominance…bring American jobs back to the auto industry and much more.”

Zeldin said he was excited to implement Trump’s economic agenda, adding: “I think the American people are so hungry for that. It’s one of the main reasons why they’re sending him back to the White House .”

Trump’s new administration also includes a longtime adviser and immigration hardliner Stephen Miller as deputy chief policy officer and New York Rep. Elise Stefanik as his nominee for U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations.

This story contains reporting from The Associated Press.

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