Then-Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-Shirley) arranged the event after Long Island officials and local environmental activists complained that the only federal hearing on the 2018 presidential executive order to allow that oil exploration and drilling had been held in Albany. Legal challenges eventually blocked the drilling.

What to expect from Donald Trump’s EPA pick: deregulation justified as boosts for the economy and platitudes about the importance of clean air and water.

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.