NEW YORK — President-elect Donald Trump On Monday, he appointed former New York congressman Lee Zeldin to head the Environmental Protection Agency as he continues to build his future administration with loyal supporters.

In his statement, Trump said that Zeldin, a Republican who made an unsuccessful bid for New York governor in 2022, “will ensure that fair and rapid deregulation decisions are made in a way that will unleash the power of the American business community.” Trump said Zeldin would also maintain “the highest environmental standards, including the cleanest air and water on the planet.”

Trump’s statement misidentified the name of the agency Zeldin was chosen to lead, labeling it as the Environmental Protection Agency.

Zeldin, who left Congress in January 2023, was a surprising choice for the role. This has led him to frequently speak publicly, both in his own campaigns and on Trump’s behalf, about issues such as the military, national security, anti-Semitism, US-Israel relations, immigration and crime.

He was among the Republicans in Congress who voted against certifying the 2020 election results. While in Congress, he did not serve on committees that oversee environmental policy and earned a 14% lifetime rating from the League of Conservation Voters during his eight years in Congress.

In the 2022 race for governor, Zeldin has vowed to reverse a fracking ban implemented by Democrats.

In an interview on Fox News Channel on Monday, Zeldin, 44, said he would try to ensure that the United States can “maintain its energy dominance … bring American jobs back to the auto industry and do much more.”

Zeldin stated that he was excited to implement Trump’s economic agenda and added: “I think the American people are very hungry for this. “That’s one of the big reasons why they sent him back to the White House.”

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

Zeldin said at the time that he wanted to restore local control and common sense in fisheries management. He later pushed to allow striped bass fishing through an amendment to the federal spending bill. Environmental groups have criticized the change, which they say risks overfishing in the area.

Trump frequently pointed to Zeldin’s performance in the 2022 governor’s race, where the GOP fared much better than expected against Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul. Although Trump did not win New York state in last week’s election, he did much better than previous elections, especially in the Bronx, Brooklyn and Queens.

Ed Cox, the New York Republican chairman, said Zeldin’s surprise appointment was “a testament to President Trump’s commitment to revitalizing the original mission of the EPA, an agency created under President Richard Nixon to protect our nation’s environment.”

The announcement comes after Trump chose his longtime adviser Stephen Miller, a hard-liner on immigration, as his new administration’s vice president for policy, and New York Representative Elise Stefanik as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations.

Trump also asked Florida Representative Mike WaltzTrump appointed Trump, a retired Army National Guard officer and combat veteran, as his national security adviser, according to a person familiar with the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the matter before making a formal announcement.

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

Miller also helped craft many of Trump’s harsh speeches and was often the public face of those policies during Trump’s first term and campaigns.

Since leaving the White House, Miller has served as president of America First Legal, a conservative version of Trump’s former advisers. American Civil Liberties UnionHe challenges the Biden administration, media companies, universities and others on issues such as free speech, religion and national security.

Miller drew thunderous applause at Trump’s rally at Madison Square Garden in the final stretch of the race, telling the crowd that “your salvation is at hand” and describing “decades of abuse rained down on the good people of this nation.” – their works were looted, stolen and shipped to Mexico, Asia and foreign countries. “The lives of their loved ones are being taken away from them by illegal aliens, criminal gangs and thugs who do not belong in this country.”

Because this is not a Cabinet position, the appointment does not need Senate confirmation.

On the environment, Zeldin said in 2016 that he disagreed with then-candidate Trump’s call to eliminate the EPA. At a candidate forum on Long Island, he said he sees “a need to improve the agency,” including improving its relationship with Congress and deferring to lawmakers on some regulations; “That’s very different from advocating eliminating it.”