Trump admin ‘firing on all cylinders’ for U.S. energy, EPA’s Zeldin tells The Lion

The Trump administration is going full speed ahead on securing clean air, land and water for “all Americans,” Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin told the Lion’s Chris Stigall at the White House on Monday.

“We should get back to the basics, just like President Trump talks about,” he said. “Let’s conserve the environment. Let’s choose to protect the environment and grow the economy.”

Zeldin’s remarks follow a trip that he, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and Energy Secretary Chris Wright took to Alaska in June. The three serve together on the National Energy Dominance Council, which President Trump established via executive order in February. 

Alaska is drilling for oil while being conscious of the environment and protecting wildlife in the area, Zeldin said of his visit. 

“All the wildlife up there looked like they were enjoying their best life; none of them looked like victims,” he added. “It was really a beautiful picture of the proof that you can protect the environment and grow the economy.”

Zeldin said many foreign leaders, especially from Asian countries, want to purchase and acquire energy from the U.S. 

“We should be tapping into this potential more here at home,” he said. “We haven’t been, but President Trump’s been pretty strong and consistent in arguing that we should. It’s better for the environment, it’s better for our economy, it’s better for national security.”

Alaska is both rich in natural resources and cares deeply about its environment, Zeldin said. Since the state knows both “what they are sitting on,” and what is “best for their people,” Zeldin said he wants to work with the state — not against it. 

“They want to strengthen their state and this country. They want to do it responsibly, and they also want to advance cooperative federalism,” he said. “Alaska is a long ways away from Washington, D.C. They don’t want bureaucrats inside of an office in Washington, D.C., telling them how they should be running their own state.”

The Trump administration wants to be able to ramp up U.S. energy production across “many sources,” he added, including advancing new pipelines, tapping into natural gas, talk of “more nuclear power,” and support for coal plants despite the Biden administration trying to “strangulate them out of existence.” 

“There’s a desire to win this AI race that requires more energy, requires more base load power,” he said. “So, this administration is really firing on all cylinders here to be able to meet that demand, to do it smartly, to understand the facts, the economics, and not waste any time.”

Asked by Stigall about how U.S. energy and environmental protections compared to China’s, Zeldin responded the U.S. is “much more concerned about the environment” than many other countries, including China. He noted even former President Biden’s climate czar, John Kerry, acknowledged pipelines are an environmentally friendly way to transport energy. 

“If we all agree that a pipeline is the safest way of transporting this energy, then why are we playing along with the hysteria of these NGOs, these environmental groups trying to shut down all these pipeline projects?” he asked. “And instead, you end up with truck traffic that ends up being less environmentally friendly or relying on foreign countries.” 

When Stigall asked whether environmental activists have used climate change as a political instrument, Zeldin said it has been weaponized by people on the left who want more regulations and government spending. Protecting the environment should be – and is – a bipartisan issue, he said.

“Conservatives believe strongly in conservation. There are a lot of hunters and fishermen, people who come from parts of the country that are beautiful,” he said. “That should be a conversation that doesn’t divide us.”

Instead, he said, the left has used climate change to drive “trillions of dollars of new regulation,” the Green New Deal, and environmental justice initiatives that generate billions of dollars for left-wing activists. 

Zeldin, a former congressman from New York, said his advice for House Republicans going into the 2026 midterms is to never take voters for granted. It’s important to “continue to deliver” beyond the election, he said. 

“Just because you did a great job getting something over the finish line two years ago doesn’t mean that you don’t have a responsibility to continue busting your butt all day, every day, to deliver,” Zeldin added.

Looking forward to the 2026 elections, with a Republican Congress and a Republican president, he said the GOP should “pursue any opportunity to notch as many victories as you can, to fulfill as many promises as you can.”