"Lee Zeldin does not speak like any other Environmental Protection Agency administrator in recent history.

The job of the E.P.A. chief is to protect human health by safeguarding “the air we breathe, the water we drink and land that grows our food,” as the agency’s founding charter puts it, and most administrators have talked about their work in those terms.

Mr. Zeldin, though, speaks more about supporting industry and exporting fossil fuels than about protecting the environment.

A New York Times analysis of thousands of public communications by E.P.A. administrators, including news releases, social media posts, television appearances and podcast interviews dating back three decades, shows that Mr. Zeldin has fundamentally shifted both the agency’s mission and the words he uses to describe it to reflect President Trump’s desire to maximize economic development and industrial activity while downplaying environmental consequences."

Lisa Friedman and Harry Stevens report for the New York Times April 12, 2026. [2]