"E.P.A. Targets Dozens of Environmental Rules as It Reframes Its Purpose"

"Lee Zeldin, the E.P.A. administrator, said the agency’s mission was to make it cheaper to buy cars, heat homes and run businesses."

"In a barrage of pronouncements on Wednesday the Trump administration said it would repeal dozens of the nation’s most significant environmental regulations, including limits on pollution from tailpipes and smokestacks, protections for wetlands, and the legal basis that allows it to regulate the greenhouse gases that are heating the planet.

But beyond that, Lee Zeldin, the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, reframed the purpose of the E.P.A. In a two-minute-and-18-second video posted to X, Mr. Zeldin boasted about the changes and said his agency’s mission is to “lower the cost of buying a car, heating a home and running a business.”

“From the campaign trail to Day 1 and beyond, President Trump has delivered on his promise to unleash energy dominance and lower the cost of living,” Mr. Zeldin said. “We at E.P.A. will do our part to power the great American comeback.”

Nowhere in the video did he refer to protecting the environment or public health, twin tenets that have guided the agency since its founding in 1970."

Lisa Friedman and Hiroko Tabuchi report for the New York Times March 13, 2025.

SEE ALSO:

"EPA Head Says He’ll Roll Back Dozens Of Environmental Regulations, Including Rules On Climate Change" (AP)

"EPA Announces ‘Endangerment Finding’ Reconsideration" (E&E News)

"E.P.A. Plans to Close All Environmental Justice Offices" (New York Times)