Since taking office, President Donald Trump has kept the Environmental Protection Agency in his crosshairs. Although it’s rarely front-page news, the EPA — led by Lee Zeldin, the first Jewish person to serve as its administrator — is purging scientists and public health experts, dismantling environmental justice plans and protections and attempting to claw back $20 billion for clean energy, cars and buses. Zeldin is rushing through drastic changes at the agency, including a proposal to reduce the agency by up to two-thirds and advising the White House to strike down a landmark finding that the greenhouse gases driving the climate crisis pose a threat to health and welfare. 

Within the last week, Zeldin has entirely redefined the EPA’s central mission away from environmental protection and toward cheaper cars and more fossil fuel extraction, all while happily proclaiming that this has been one of the most consequential weeks of “deregulation” in American history after slashing 31 regulations that protect health and the environment in the effort to “unleash American energy.”

EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin signs a Water Policy Announcement during a signing ceremony with members of the West Virginia Congressional Delegation at the Environmental Protection Agency Headquarters on Feb. 18, 2025 in Washington, D.C. Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images)

A former Republican congressman from Long Island, Zeldin comes to the position with almost zero formal experience in environmental regulation, his appointment seemingly a reward for his long-standing loyalty to Trump. As a result, Zeldin appears particularly vulnerable to political pressure from the president, and it’s no wonder that his leadership has been amongst the most aggressive so far in dismantling federal regulations. His record to date is one that puts American livelihoods, health and lives at risk — the very opposite of the Jewish imperative of pikuach nefesh, taking action to save a life. It’s for this reason that leading American Jewish institutions and philanthropists must rise to the occasion and oppose Zeldin’s actions and the harm they’re causing.

The EPA is not some new “woke” creation. It was established in 1970 by President Richard Nixon, and for decades its efforts to protect human health and the environment — and yes, even its steps toward climate action — have garnered bipartisan support. Despite being the boogeyman of right-wing media for decades, the EPA has persisted because policymakers on both sides of the aisle recognize that, irrespective of its popularity, the agency was indispensable for protecting American lives.

In less than two months, Zeldin has shattered the old bipartisan consensus. He has been unwilling to hear the pleas of scientists, legal experts and even families poisoned by pollution as he pursues a reckless agenda. Every day, EPA staff in Washington and in offices across the country deliver vital services to the American people, ensuring we have clean air to breathe, safe water to drink and that our homes and communities are free from dangerous and deadly chemicals. It’s no exaggeration to say that the EPA’s work is l’dor v’dor, to protect and sustain the American people from generation to generation. Undermining that work — which, as far as we can tell, is Zeldin’s singular mission so far — is utterly antithetical to any Jewish value oriented towards the protection of life and safety. 

Americans support environmental protection and climate action, with poll after poll showing deep support for measures to combat the crisis and invest in clean energy solutions. A September 2024 poll of Jewish voters found that climate ranked fourth out of 11 issues; young Jewish voters (age 18 to 34) ranked it second, just behind the future of democracy. The American Jewish community, and American Jewish leaders and funders in particular, should recognize the urgency of this moment and speak out against the damage Zeldin is causing. This is not simply an opportunity to seize moral leadership — it is also in the direct interest of our community, many of whom are already facing the clear and present danger of the climate crisis in southern California and beyond. As Jews, we are uniquely positioned to speak to Zeldin about our commitment to a just, livable world, drawing on our shared text and tradition.

In a Midrash from Genesis, God warns Adam and Eve as he gave them Eden to  “be mindful then that you do not spoil and destroy My world – for if you spoil it, there is no one after you to repair it.” (Midrash Kohelet Rabbah 7:13). Zeldin would be wise to remember those words about our world today, situated as we are amidst an accelerating climate crisis. 

As a congressman, Zeldin himself occasionally voted for increased environmental and health protections, and even opposed cuts to the EPA budget. His present efforts to diminish and dismantle the EPA put our health, safety and future in peril. Zeldin may not listen to us — his loyalty, after all, appears to be to Trump — but we can and must demonstrate that his actions do not enjoy the support of the American Jewish community and that we are unified around an alternative vision of the future that is livable and just.

As the first Jewish EPA administrator, Zeldin should work to safeguard Americans’ health, safety and futures. If he continues to refuse to do so, the American Jewish leadership must make its voice heard and make clear that Zeldin’s actions are antithetical to our values as a community.

Dahlia Rockowitz is the director of campaigns and partnership at Dayenu: A Jewish Call to Climate Action.