By tapping former New York Rep. Lee Zeldin to head the Environmental Protection Agency, President-elect Donald Trump opted to put his planned radical rollback of climate policy in the hands of a staunch ally who is skilled at projecting an image of a moderate conservationist.

President-elect said on social media that he will appoint former Congressman Lee Zeldin, a noted anti-environmental hardliner, as the head of the Environmental Protection Agency. In a post on his social media platform Truth Social,

Donald Trump has named his pick to run the Environmental Protection Agency: Lee Zeldin, who was the U.S. representative for New York’s 1st congressional district from 2015 to 2023. What does that tell us about what lies ahead?