Lee Zeldin

Rule Changes

Leading the repeal effort

The Environmental Protection Agency finalized a rule in September that wipes out most Biden-era limits on climate pollution from coal and gas plants. The rule takes effect November 16, and EPA projects $310 billion in savings without explaining how it derived that estimate.

Updated 3 days ago

Rule Changes

Finalized rescission of the 2009 Endangerment Finding and vehicle GHG standards; defending the action in court

The Transportation Department published its final fuel-economy rule on September 28, cutting the 2031 fleetwide target to 34.9 miles per gallon from 50.4 mpg under Biden. The rule resets standards to model year 2022 levels and arrived as average U.S. gas prices sat just under $4.50 a gallon.

Updated 5 days ago

Rule Changes

Finalized the repeal of power plant carbon standards

Six public health and environmental groups filed suit September 17 to block the Environmental Protection Agency's repeal of carbon pollution limits for power plants. On October 1, 21 states and several cities, led by New York, filed their own challenge in the same court.

Updated 6 days ago

Rule Changes

Repealing limits on power plant carbon emissions

Coal-fired electricity generation fell 11% in the first half of 2026, per the Financial Times, even as the Trump administration issued more than 20 emergency orders to keep aging plants running. In September a federal appeals court struck down the order keeping Michigan's Campbell plant open, ruling the Department of Energy overstepped its authority; days later the agency ordered plants in Indiana and Washington state to stay running.

Updated Sep 29

Built World

Overseeing repeal of federal climate rules

U.S. greenhouse gas emissions are projected to fall in 2026 for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic, with output returning to roughly 1991 levels. The driver is a supply shock: a crisis in the Strait of Hormuz has disrupted global oil shipments, pushing prices up and consumption down.

Updated Sep 28

Rule Changes

Ordered Solar for All's termination in August 2025

Two federal judges have ruled that the Environmental Protection Agency unlawfully canceled the $7 billion Solar for All program. Judge Tanya Chutkan of the U.S. District Court in Washington ruled Sept. 22 that the termination was 'arbitrary and capricious, contrary to law, and in excess of statutory authority.'

Updated Sep 25

Rule Changes

Leading the current WOTUS rulemaking

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) opened a second public comment period Friday on a rule that would sharply narrow which wetlands the Clean Water Act protects. The supplemental notice comes nearly a year after the agency's first proposal, which drew more than 220,000 comments.

Updated Sep 5

Rule Changes

Agency lost the ruling; may appeal

Community groups in Baltimore, Nashville, and San Diego were promised federal money to clean up pollution and cool overheated neighborhoods. On June 12, a federal judge ruled the EPA broke the law when it cut off the entire $2.8 billion program.

Updated Jun 13

Rule Changes

EPA Administrator; leading candidate for permanent attorney general; Senate Republicans signal openness to nomination

President Trump fired Attorney General Pam Bondi on April 2, 2026, replacing her with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, who defended Trump in the Manhattan criminal trial before joining the DOJ. He's the fourth Justice Department leader under Trump, after Sessions, Barr, and Bondi. Senate Judiciary Committee Republicans signaled they'd consider EPA administrator Lee Zeldin as permanent replacement. Legal scholars questioned whether Blanche could simultaneously serve as both acting attorney general and acting Librarian of Congress.

Updated May 30

Rule Changes

EPA Administrator, named defendant in multiple lawsuits

The EPA's February 2026 revocation of its 2009 endangerment finding ended federal greenhouse gas authority, but the rollbacks kept coming. By May 2026, the agency had also repealed mercury protections for coal plants, relaxed refrigerant deadlines for businesses, and sent a final rule to the White House budget office to erase power plant emissions standards.

Updated May 30

Rule Changes

Leading EPA's reconsideration of Biden-era technology transitions rules

The Environmental Protection Agency gave HVAC contractors an extra year on Tuesday to install commercial air-conditioning equipment that uses older, higher-warming refrigerants. The final rule covers variable refrigerant flow systems manufactured or imported before January 1, 2026, and pushes the installation cutoff out to January 1, 2027.

Updated May 26

Rule Changes

Leading the agency's deregulatory agenda

For 50 years, states have held veto power over pipelines, dams, and power plants crossing their waterways. On January 14, 2026, the EPA proposed a rule to prevent states and tribes from blocking federally permitted energy projects based on anything beyond direct water pollution.

Updated May 21

Built World

Confirmed January 2025; reviewing prior-administration water rules

Pennsylvania American Water confirmed $631 million in 2026 capital spending during Infrastructure Week. That was the largest single-state disclosure in the American Water Works rollout so far. Tennessee American Water followed with $40 million, closing out a week that began with Illinois's $290 million announcement on May 18.

Updated May 19

Rule Changes

Leading Trump administration rollback of Biden‑era climate and vehicle pollution rules

The EPA isn't killing Biden's vehicle pollution rules outright. It plans to keep looser 2026 standards in place for two extra model years instead of enforcing tougher limits on smog-forming pollution starting in 2027.

Updated May 11