Lee Zeldin
Appearances
The Charlie Kirk Show
Vance is Right: Germany Isn't Free
Thanks a lot, Charlie. It's great to be with you.
The Charlie Kirk Show
Vance is Right: Germany Isn't Free
Our Powering the Great American Comeback initiative focuses on five pillars. Number one is President Trump talks about we need to be focused on pursuing clean air, land and water for all Americans. That's pillar number one. first and foremost. But there are several other pillars that the American public voted for last November that we take close to heart.
The Charlie Kirk Show
Vance is Right: Germany Isn't Free
One is unleashing energy dominance, permitting reform, making America the AI capital of the world, bringing back American auto jobs. President Trump talks about ushering in a new golden age, a golden era of success, and that's something that we want to do our part. So this past Friday, President Trump at the Oval Office signed an executive order announcing his National Energy Dominance Council.
The Charlie Kirk Show
Vance is Right: Germany Isn't Free
I was there with Secretary Wright, Secretary Burgum, Secretary Duffy, and others. President Trump doesn't want to spend time just four years trying to get all of these goals accomplished. He wants to get this stuff done in a matter of weeks and months. So with that level of urgency, we're all in to do our part here at EPA.
The Charlie Kirk Show
Vance is Right: Germany Isn't Free
Hi, this is EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin. One of my very top priorities at EPA is to be an excellent steward of your hard-earned tax dollars. There will be zero tolerance of any waste and abuse.
The Charlie Kirk Show
Vance is Right: Germany Isn't Free
An extremely disturbing video circulated two months ago featuring a Biden EPA political appointee talking about how they were tossing gold bars off the Titanic, rushing to get billions of your tax dollars out the door before Inauguration Day. Shockingly, roughly 20 billion of your tax dollars were parked at an outside financial institution by the Biden EPA.
The Charlie Kirk Show
Vance is Right: Germany Isn't Free
And it was purposefully designed to obligate all of the money in a rush job with reduced oversight.
The Charlie Kirk Show
Vance is Right: Germany Isn't Free
There's been so many developments just over the course of the last few days since that video came out. I'll give you an example of one. Just earlier today, I was reading a grant agreement On page one of a grant agreement, it was saying that the grant for $2 billion of funds.
The Charlie Kirk Show
Vance is Right: Germany Isn't Free
On page six of that grant agreement, it says that the grantee has 90 days to complete a training called, you won't believe this, Charlie, it's called how to develop a budget. So 21 days to get out over $2 billion. 90 days to complete training on how to develop a budget. There is so much to this. I've read now the financial agent agreement, the account control agreements, the legal reviews.
The Charlie Kirk Show
Vance is Right: Germany Isn't Free
They were amending account control agreements just days before inauguration day. So that video where that Biden EPA political appointee was talking about tossing, throwing gold bars off the Titanic, They actually were, not to what is just a few hundred thousand or a few million. We're talking about tens of billions of dollars, tens of billions of tax dollars.
The Charlie Kirk Show
Vance is Right: Germany Isn't Free
I've been working with the Justice Department, the Treasury Department, and others. We want to make sure that there's full accountability and oversight established here. There's zero tolerance for waste and abuse in the Trump administration.
The Charlie Kirk Show
Vance is Right: Germany Isn't Free
So the way that this was designed, once Congress appropriated tens of billions of dollars here to pass through the EPA, eight entities as primary recipients would receive all 20 billion dollars as a pass through. And then once that money was passed through those eight primary recipients, they would go to a bunch of sub-grantees. And in many respects, those sub-grantees were also pass-throughs.
The Charlie Kirk Show
Vance is Right: Germany Isn't Free
And these were NGOs that were very well-connected and in some respects, extremely newly set up organizations where they have never handled anywhere close to this level of money to the point where you have to work into the grant agreement a training on how to develop a budget. So this is something that shouldn't have been set up from the get-go.
The Charlie Kirk Show
Vance is Right: Germany Isn't Free
The entire scheme is something that is designed for waste and abuse. And get this, Charlie, once the money passes through those eight primary recipients and moves on to those sub-grantees, EPA isn't even a party to the account control agreement. EPA deliberately had stuff worded into the financial agent agreement and the original account control agreement to tie its hand behind its back.
The Charlie Kirk Show
Vance is Right: Germany Isn't Free
And the dates of this stuff is wild. The financial agent agreement, September 18th. The account control agreement is November 1st. The legal review on all of this is done on Election Day, November 5th. And as I pointed out earlier, they were still amending these things January 13th, just a few days before the inauguration. Last I'll say is this, if you don't mind.
The Charlie Kirk Show
Vance is Right: Germany Isn't Free
Up front, the $20 billion was given out. It wasn't like they gave out some tranche of money and then over the course of time, the grantees coming back to the government and the government is signing off based on past performances and accountability and proposals for the future. The government gave out the $20 billion in the onset and said, here you go.
The Charlie Kirk Show
Vance is Right: Germany Isn't Free
So the total amount of the EPA, the numbers were over 15,000. And one of the things that I asked when I first came in, it was three weeks ago today, I wanted to know what the numbers looked like as far as attendance inside of headquarters over the course of the last year or so. So since January of 2024, the average attendance rate on Mondays and Fridays was about five to 8%.
The Charlie Kirk Show
Vance is Right: Germany Isn't Free
The most that the EPA headquarters had on any single day, like the record attendance was that there was one day where attendance hit 37%. President Trump came in, he signed an executive order, it's time to come back to work. And I believe that it's important for productivity, for collaboration. It's important for us to do everything in our power to make the American public proud.
The Charlie Kirk Show
Vance is Right: Germany Isn't Free
We're seeing it right now with EPA doing such a great job in California, completing a phase one hazardous material removal. President Trump gave us 30 days to get it done. We're going to hit that. We have over 1,500 workers on the ground. EPA is in Western North Carolina. We're in East Palestine, Ohio. We're in Maui and Flint.
The Charlie Kirk Show
Vance is Right: Germany Isn't Free
And now after the flooding that just took place in Kentucky, we just received a FEMA mission assignment to help with that removal, and we are on it. So we have a lot of important work here at EPA. We want to make the American public proud.
The Charlie Kirk Show
Vance is Right: Germany Isn't Free
Great point. President Trump in that executive order that he signed on Friday, created this National Energy Dominance Council where we had multiple agencies all standing there represented by myself, Secretaries Wright and Burgum and Duffy and other members of the cabinet there to announce this collaboration, this partnership.
The Charlie Kirk Show
Vance is Right: Germany Isn't Free
President Trump spoke about Constitution Pipeline, which was stopped by New York utilizing an EPA rule which needs to get looked at because this was a really important project. And as President Trump pointed out, can get done at this point in less than a year. So President Trump wants to green light it.
The Charlie Kirk Show
Vance is Right: Germany Isn't Free
We need to ensure that we are not holding back that level of progress and that we are in touch with American innovation and that we understand that over the course of the last couple of decades, emissions have gone down here in the US, that we provide these forms of energy cleaner than so many other countries all around the world.
The Charlie Kirk Show
Vance is Right: Germany Isn't Free
And America sits on all of these important resources that we will tap into in a way that is better for the environment than so many other places around the world. So if you care about the environment, We shouldn't be relying on all these countries elsewhere. Let's do it here at home.
The Charlie Kirk Show
Vance is Right: Germany Isn't Free
And not only will we be doing a better job in protecting the environment, it's important for our national security, it's important for our economy, and we'll be delivering on what the American public demanded last November 5th.
The Charlie Kirk Show
Vance is Right: Germany Isn't Free
This is something that President Trump, he didn't waste any time on, and he wants EPA and the Department of Energy to work together. So at EPA, there are voluntary standards created through something called the WaterSense program, which we have already started working on overhauling.
The Charlie Kirk Show
Vance is Right: Germany Isn't Free
It could start as voluntary, but when government starts partnering with the private sector and these different companies start adopting these federal Biden-era standards, Then all of a sudden, the implementation with the product that American consumers are out there purchasing ends up being adapted to what the Biden EPA had set out.
The Charlie Kirk Show
Vance is Right: Germany Isn't Free
So President Trump wants us to look at the standards, which is what we're doing. He wants us to overhaul them, which we are. And there are rules that the Department of Energy are looking to overhaul. Secretary Wright has already gotten his people cranking on all of that. So we're not wasting any time.
The Charlie Kirk Show
Vance is Right: Germany Isn't Free
President Trump said this is a top priority for him because it's an important priority for you, the American people. And for us, Secretary Wright at DOE and for myself at EPA, we're all in to do our part.
The Charlie Kirk Show
Vance is Right: Germany Isn't Free
For more on many of these stories and news you can trust, go to charliekirk.com.
The Charlie Kirk Show
Vance is Right: Germany Isn't Free
Charlie, what you've done is incredible here.
The Charlie Kirk Show
The Confirmation Continuum: Day 3
And Chairman Capito, that last part of your question is key for different agencies to be able to work with each other, collaborating with each other, and also for agencies to be able to collaborate with Congress on any opportunities that Congress sees to pursue permitting reform as well.
The Charlie Kirk Show
The Confirmation Continuum: Day 3
As far as EPA jurisdiction goes, we see a role of the EPA, for example, as it relates to environmental impact statements. There are different issues where there will be opportunities for the EPA to follow its obligations under the law. There's a possibility that Congress might choose to make changes to the law on items that are under EPA jurisdiction.
The Charlie Kirk Show
The Confirmation Continuum: Day 3
I would look forward to doing my part to make sure that the EPA is not holding up any opportunities to be able to pursue sound applications that otherwise would be and should be approved.
The Charlie Kirk Show
The Confirmation Continuum: Day 3
Yes, Chairman Capito, I know how much of a priority this is. You've been outspoken on this issue. It's my commitment to work with you as soon as, if confirmed, as soon as I'm in that position, I'd welcome that opportunity.
The Charlie Kirk Show
The Confirmation Continuum: Day 3
Senator Whitehouse, as I've stated earlier, my desire, if confirmed as EPA administrator, is to increase productivity of the EPA. I want to be able to help lead this agency in a way that all of you on both sides of the aisle can be proud of for us to be accountable and transparent. I want maximum collaboration, not just with Congress, but internally within the EPA.
The Charlie Kirk Show
The Confirmation Continuum: Day 3
I've been hugely impressed with the level of talent stepping up to serve at EPA. And that is the pressure that I am feeling at this moment, is to bring out the best of EPA to make sure that we are fulfilling our mission of protecting public health.
The Charlie Kirk Show
The Confirmation Continuum: Day 3
Senator, I don't need any extra time for reflection on that one. There is no person who has ever provided any level of support to me or anyone else who has any special influence with me. When I was in the Army, I wore around my dog tags, the seven Army values. The acronym is leadership, loyalty, duty, respect, selfless service, honor, integrity, and personal courage.
The Charlie Kirk Show
The Confirmation Continuum: Day 3
It is important for me to have always been able to approach this position with a clear conscience to make decisions that I can live with for my entire life. There is no dollar, large or small, that can influence the decisions that I make who has access to me, and how I am ruling in my obligations under the law.
The Charlie Kirk Show
The Confirmation Continuum: Day 3
Senator, I'm happy to enthusiastically answer that question on any day on the spot, and I would never need any extra amount of time of reflection. Well, good luck standing up to these guys, because they're going to come at you.
The Charlie Kirk Show
The Confirmation Continuum: Day 3
For more on many of these stories and news you can trust, go to charliekirk.com.
The Charlie Kirk Show
The Confirmation Continuum: Day 3
Oil and gas leases and explore for additional production of oil and gas. The EPA has written one size fits all solutions. We are not the majors and we are stripper well producers. And I just want your commitment to work with the industry, these small producers to find right-sized regulations for the circumstances that they're in.
The Charlie Kirk Show
The Confirmation Continuum: Day 3
Senator, I would welcome an opportunity to travel to your state to meet with them, whether it's at your office or elsewhere. I want to know about all of your priorities, including this one. but also to make sure that anyone who could provide any type of insight that can make me better informed to make better decisions, that I welcome any of those opportunities for conversations and collaboration.
The Charlie Kirk Show
The Confirmation Continuum: Day 3
I think that's a wonderful offer on your part, and I'm very grateful for it. I sometimes am reluctant to ask every nominee that comes before me, would you please come visit Kansas? And you volunteered. So I'm appreciative of that. And I would tell you, I can't imagine the...
The Charlie Kirk Show
The Confirmation Continuum: Day 3
the opportunity that people in that industry would see to have the capability of talking to somebody like you directly in a state like Kansas. So thank you. And we'll get on your schedule, although you have to say once confirmed. So I look forward to that. In a different vein of energy production, I've created with my colleague, Senator Bozeman and others, a sustainable aviation fuel caucus.
The Charlie Kirk Show
The Confirmation Continuum: Day 3
Kansas and Wichita in particular is the air capital of the world. We produce many more general aviation aircraft than anybody. We manufacture with thousands of employees working in aviation and aerospace. And I want to bring together the opportunity to bring the agricultural aspects of Kansas together with the aviation aspects and pursue the development of SAF, sustainable aviation fuel.
The Charlie Kirk Show
The Confirmation Continuum: Day 3
I wanted to know, I guess the question would be, we need your help in pursuing opportunities. Okay, let's go back. I was told it was really contentious.
The Daily
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I believe that climate change is real, as I told you.
The Daily
Waiting for the Immigration Raids, Again
I will foster a collaborative culture within the agency. supporting career staff who have dedicated themselves to this mission. I strongly believe we have a moral responsibility to be good stewards of our environment for generations to come.