Nov. 11 – Today President-elect Donald Trump announced his plan to appoint former New York Congress Member Lee Zeldin to lead the Environmental Protection Agency. In response, Food & Water Watch Managing Director of Policy and Litigation Mitch Jones issued the following statement:

“In Trump’s upside-down world, Lee Zeldin’s dearth of experience on matters of environmental protection is seen as a virtue for running the EPA, not a hindrance. But we know from his voting record in Congress and from his campaign for governor of New York that Zeldin is solidly aligned with Trump’s disastrous anti-science, pro-polluter agenda. Zeldin was an aggressive backer of subjecting New York to the inherent harms of fracking, and he’s been casually denying the realities of fossil fuel-driven climate change for more than a decade.

“We’ve seen Trump’s playbook before, and we’re prepared to confront his administration head-on with all the tools at our disposal – in the courts, on the streets and elsewhere – to ensure that Americans’ public health, environmental protection and climate stability won’t go down without a fight.”