Lee Michael Zeldin’s January 2025 confirmation as Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has triggered the most sweeping rollback of environmental protections in the agency’s history. Installed during President Trump’s second term, Zeldin’s tenure is marked by a radical deregulatory agenda that favors economic growth and fossil fuel interests over climate science, public health, and environmental justice.
Deregulation as Doctrine
Within weeks of taking office, Zeldin unveiled the “Powering the Great American Comeback Initiative,” a deregulatory blitz that erased 31 major environmental rules in a single day. This initiative aims to dismantle longstanding safeguards in pursuit of what Zeldin terms “energy realism” — a euphemism for expanding fossil fuel production and reducing regulatory hurdles.
Key actions include:
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Repealing vehicle emissions standards that had helped reduce greenhouse gases and urban pollution
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Weakening pollution controls on coal and natural gas power plants
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Narrowing the scope of the Clean Water Act, reducing protections for rivers, wetlands, and drinking water sources
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Fast-tracking permits for oil, gas, and mining projects, often at the expense of environmental review
Environmental advocates warn these rollbacks jeopardize public health and the environment by prioritizing short-term corporate profits over scientific evidence.
Climate Denial by Policy: The Endangerment Finding Under Siege
Perhaps the most consequential move is Zeldin’s effort to repeal the 2009 “Endangerment Finding,” which legally classified greenhouse gases as harmful to public health under the Clean Air Act. This ruling underpinned decades of federal climate regulation.
Zeldin claims repealing it will save $54 billion annually in compliance costs, calling it a “correction of regulatory overreach.” Legal experts and scientists counter that overturning the finding would strip the federal government of its ability to enforce climate protections and likely violate established legal precedents. Lawsuits challenging the repeal are already in preparation.
Budget Cuts and the Gutting of EPA Science
Zeldin’s deregulatory campaign is matched by a dramatic downsizing of the EPA itself. The Trump administration’s 2025 budget slashed the agency’s funding by 55%, gutting its scientific capacity.
Among the casualties:
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Cancellation of $3 billion in climate justice block grants aimed at addressing environmental disparities in low-income communities
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Elimination of clean energy funding for rooftop solar programs
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Cuts to Superfund site cleanups and environmental justice research
The Office of Research and Development, the EPA’s scientific core, has been dismantled, with thousands of staff reassigned or laid off. The agency now emphasizes “state collaboration” and “industry efficiency,” shifting regulatory power to often under-resourced states and industry self-policing.
Conspiracies, Culture Wars, and Science Under Siege
Zeldin’s EPA has also ventured into controversial territory, endorsing investigations into weather modification and “geoengineering transparency,” areas often linked to conspiracy theories. Internally, climate education materials are under review, and there are reports of pressure on universities to defund or redirect climate research away from contentious topics.
This ideological shift threatens to politicize science and erode the integrity of federal partnerships with academic institutions.
Implications for Higher Education
Though the EPA does not directly govern education policy, its policies and budget cuts send shockwaves through higher education, especially at public and land-grant universities focused on environmental science and agriculture.
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EPA grant funding for climate and environmental research faces severe cuts, jeopardizing ongoing projects and future STEM initiatives.
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Scientific partnerships between universities and the EPA are imperiled, risking a loss of federal research infrastructure.
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Climate policy education is increasingly vulnerable to ideological scrutiny and defunding pressures.
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Programs designed to encourage STEM participation among underserved communities are at risk of collapse without federal support.
These trends threaten to dismantle vital components of the STEM pipeline and undermine America’s ability to educate the next generation of environmental scientists and policymakers.
Lee Zeldin’s EPA represents a historic pivot away from climate action and environmental protection toward deregulation, austerity, and ideological control. The long-term consequences for public health, environmental justice, and higher education remain deeply uncertain — but the alarm bells are ringing loud.
Sources
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Environmental Protection Agency. “Administrator Zeldin Announces Powering the Great American Comeback Initiative.” epa.gov. March–July 2025.
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Winston & Strawn LLP. “EPA Launches Historic Deregulatory Plan.” March 2025.
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The Washington Post. “EPA Moves to Overturn Endangerment Finding.” July 29, 2025.
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Associated Press. “Democrats Say EPA Budget Cuts May Kill People.” July 2025.
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The Guardian. “EPA Halts $3 Billion Climate Justice Program; Lawsuit Looms.” August 5, 2025.
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The Week. “How the EPA Plans to Nullify Climate Science.” July 2025.
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New York Post. “Zeldin Aims to Cut ‘Woke’ Climate Spending, Slash Energy Costs.” July 2025.
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Times Union (Albany). “Editorial: EPA’s Dangerous Ignorance.” July 2025.
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CNN Interview. “Zeldin Defends Record, Faces Tough Questions.” July 2025.
