As Attorney General Pam Bondi ends her tenure, a familiar figure within President Donald Trump’s orbit is emerging as a possible successor, drawing renewed attention to a record that has already sparked sharp debate.
Lee Zeldin, the current administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, is being discussed as a potential replacement as Trump removes Bondi amid controversy tied to the handling of Jeffrey Epstein-related files.
Trump terminated Bondi as attorney general Thursday afternoon, a source told CNN.
Zeldin, a Republican from New York, has long positioned himself as a staunch ally of the former president. He served in Congress from 2015 to 2023 and was among those who defended Trump during his impeachment proceedings and later voted against certifying the 2020 election results.
Before his time in Washington, Zeldin served in the New York state Senate and built a dual career in law and the military. He spent more than two decades in the Army Reserve, including a deployment to Iraq, and became one of the youngest attorneys in New York at age 23.
Since taking over the EPA in January 2025, Zeldin has overseen sweeping changes to environmental policy. His tenure has been defined by efforts to roll back regulations tied to pollution, emissions, wetlands, and endangered species, moves he has framed as necessary to reduce federal overreach.
Yet those same actions have drawn sustained criticism.
An open letter signed by more than 160 environmental and health organizations accused Zeldin of undermining the agency’s core mission, citing proposed budget cuts, the dismantling of research programs, and the rollback of climate protections.
At the same time, congressional scrutiny has followed.
Senate Democrats have called for his resignation, accusing him of providing incomplete or misleading information during hearings tied to climate funding decisions. Zeldin and the EPA have rejected those claims, maintaining that the changes were part of a broader effort to eliminate waste and realign the agency’s priorities.
His political career has also been marked by controversy beyond his current role.
During his 2022 run for governor of New York, Zeldin’s campaign faced scrutiny after submitting thousands of duplicate petition signatures in an effort to secure a ballot line. State election officials ultimately invalidated the application, though Zeldin denied any intentional wrongdoing.
