Lee Zeldin Bio
Lee Michael Zeldin (born January 30, 1980) is an American politician and attorney who has served as the 17th Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency since January 29, 2025. A member of the Republican Party, he represented New York’s 1st congressional district in the United States House of Representatives from 2015 to 2023, after serving in the New York State Senate from 2011 to 2014. In 2022, Zeldin was the Republican nominee for Governor of New York, and he is widely regarded as a close ally of former President Donald Trump. He is also a U.S. Army Reserve officer and a practicing attorney.
Early Life and Background
Lee Michael Zeldin was born on January 30, 1980, in East Meadow, New York, the son of Merrill Schwartz and David Zeldin. He was raised in Suffolk County, New York, on Long Island, and graduated from William Floyd High School in Mastic Beach in 1998. During his childhood, Zeldin also attended Hebrew school.
Zeldin went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University at Albany, SUNY, in 2001, followed by a Juris Doctor from Albany Law School in May 2003. In 2004, he was admitted to the New York State Bar, becoming the youngest attorney in New York State at the time. He comes from a family with deep ties to Jewish communal life. Zeldin is the grandson of rabbis on both sides, including his grandfather Rabbi Abraham Jacob “Jack” Zeldin, who founded Farmingdale Jewish Center, a Conservative synagogue. His great-uncle Isaiah Zeldin founded the Stephen S. Wise Temple in Los Angeles, and his great-grandfather Morris A. Zeldin co-founded UJA-Federation of New York.
Path to U.S. Politics
Zeldin received an Army ROTC commission as a second lieutenant and served in the United States Army from 2003 to 2007, initially joining the Military Intelligence Corps. In 2007, he transitioned from active duty to the Army Reserve, where he eventually rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel before his retirement on April 30, 2025. That same year, he joined the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey as an attorney. In 2008, he started a general-practice law firm in Smithtown, New York, which he operated full-time until his election to the New York State Senate in 2010.
His early legal and military experience laid the foundation for his later political career. Zeldin’s blend of public service, legal training, and conservative policy views helped him build a strong reputation on Long Island. In 2008, he first ran for Congress, challenging Democratic incumbent Tim Bishop in New York’s 1st congressional district, and lost. Five years later, he returned to politics, winning a seat in the New York State Senate in 2010 and serving there until 2014.
Lee Zeldin Career
Early Career (2010-2014)
In 2010, Zeldin won a seat in the New York State Senate’s 3rd District, defeating Democratic incumbent Brian X. Foley with 57 percent of the vote. He was reelected in 2012, defeating Democrat Francis Genco with 56 percent of the vote. During his tenure in the State Senate, Zeldin co-sponsored a bill that established a 2 percent property tax cap in New York, which became law in January 2011.
Zeldin also helped create the PFC Joseph Dwyer PTSD Peer-to-Peer Veterans Support Program, with funding included in the 2012-13 New York State Budget. He voted against the Marriage Equality Act in 2011, citing his belief that marriage should be defined as between a man and a woman. In 2013, he announced his second run for Congress.
Congressional Breakthrough (2015-2022)
In 2014, Zeldin defeated Democratic incumbent Tim Bishop to win New York’s 1st congressional district, securing 54 percent of the vote. He went on to win reelection in 2016 with 58 percent, in 2018 with 51.5 percent, and in 2020 with 54.9 percent. His tenure in Congress included service on the House Foreign Affairs Committee and active involvement in legislation related to veterans, Lyme disease, and energy policy.
Zeldin emerged as a prominent defender of President Donald Trump during the first impeachment hearings in 2019, speaking more than any other Republican across the seven impeachment deposition transcripts released that year. He also signed an amicus brief in support of Texas v. Pennsylvania, a lawsuit challenging the 2020 presidential election results, and voted against certification of Arizona’s and Pennsylvania’s electoral votes after the January 6, 2021, Capitol attack. In 2022, he won the Republican nomination for Governor of New York but lost the general election to incumbent Kathy Hochul, 53.2 percent to 46.8 percent, while earning the highest percentage for a Republican gubernatorial nominee since 2002.
On July 21, 2022, Zeldin was attacked at a campaign event in Perinton, New York, by a man who rushed the stage with a pointed plastic key chain. The assailant, later identified as David Jakubonis, was subdued by AMVETS national director Joe Chenelly. Jakubonis was later sentenced to three years of probation in December 2023.
EPA Administrator Era (2025-Present)
In November 2024, President-elect Donald Trump nominated Zeldin to serve as the 17th Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. He was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on January 29, 2025, in a 56-42 vote, and was sworn in later that day by Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh. Three Democratic senators, John Fetterman, Mark Kelly, and Ruben Gallego, joined all Republicans in voting to confirm him.
Zeldin’s tenure at the EPA has been defined by a sweeping deregulatory agenda. In March 2025, he announced what he described as the largest deregulatory action in U.S. history, including plans to repeal dozens of major environmental regulations, cut agency jobs, and reduce the EPA’s budget by 65 percent. By April 2025, nearly 70 coal power plants had received exemptions from pollution restrictions. In July 2025, Zeldin announced the closure of the EPA’s Office of Research and Development and pushed for the repeal of the endangerment finding, the legal basis for greenhouse gas regulation, a process finalized by President Trump on February 12, 2026.
Notable Events and Milestones
One of the most significant moments in Zeldin’s career came when he was confirmed as EPA Administrator in January 2025, placing him at the center of national environmental policy. His leadership has produced record-setting deregulatory actions and major structural changes to the agency. Earlier, his 2022 gubernatorial run marked the strongest Republican performance in a New York governor’s race in decades, and his defense of President Trump during the 2019 impeachment hearings made him one of the most visible conservatives in Congress.
Lee Zeldin Family
Family Background and Political Lineage
Zeldin was raised in a family with deep roots in Jewish communal leadership on Long Island and beyond. His grandfather Rabbi Abraham Jacob “Jack” Zeldin founded Farmingdale Jewish Center, a Conservative synagogue, while his great-uncle Isaiah Zeldin founded the Stephen S. Wise Temple in Los Angeles. His great-grandfather Morris A. Zeldin co-founded UJA-Federation of New York. Zeldin himself is a member of B’nai Israel Reform Temple in Oakdale.
Personal Life
Lee Michael Zeldin is married to Diana Gidish, who is Mormon, and the couple has identical twin daughters. The family resides in Shirley, New York. In 2024, the Zeldins also purchased a home in Washington, D.C. In September 2021, Zeldin revealed that he had been diagnosed with leukemia in November 2020 and had achieved disease remission following treatment. As of August 2020, he was one of two Jewish Republicans serving in Congress.