Of course Trump picked someone unqualified to run the EPA

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“When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time.” - Maya Angelou

Donald Trump has made no effort to hide who he is at any point in his life. With every action (or inaction), with every word (coherent or otherwise), Trump has made it clear who he is: a grandstanding businessman. He is after money and fame. He does what suits him best and he “tells it like it is.” People who support him get rewarded and those that don’t get ostracized.

So when it was announced that he had chosen Lee Zeldin to head up the Environmental Protection Agency, my reaction was simply, “Yeah, that makes sense.” It would be out of character for Trump to nominate someone who is qualified for the position. He needs someone he can trust to help further his agenda. After all, Zeldin has been a loyal Trump supporter for several years now.

He was a member of Trump’s defense team during his impeachment trial and an NBC news analysis showed he spoke up more than anyone else. He backed Trump’s exit from the Paris climate agreement in 2017. In his 2022 bid for governor of New York, he proposed to overturn the state’s fracking ban. Regarding climate change (which Trump has repeatedly called a “hoax”), Zeldin has been quoted as saying he is “not sold yet on the whole argument that we have as serious a problem as other people are.”

True to his nature, Trump has rewarded loyalty and prioritized it over actual merit. In an interview with Fox News this week, Zeldin spoke about his new position and all you heard him talk about is the economy — how regulations make it harder for businesses. What he didn’t talk very much about was the environment he has been appointed to preserve. This is not a surprise for someone with the voting record Zeldin has, and it shouldn’t be a surprise for us when it comes to Trump.

In the end, it doesn’t matter who he chose. We still have work to do.

Yes, Zeldin and Trump pose an imminent threat to our environment and the fate of our future. At the same time, our next steps are the same as they were: We must continue fighting for renewable energy, protecting our nation’s forests and holding corporations responsible for their emissions. We must shut down pipelines. We must intervene on behalf of endangered species. We must build clean transportation.

In an effort to tackle these large-scale issues, we will organize, we will protest, we will make phone calls. We will vote. We will talk with our friends and family. We will teach the next generation. Our goal under Trump’s presidency is clear. Let’s keep working.

Matt Sheeley is a writer and environmental advocate living in St. Paul.