Trump filling his cabinet with strong Israel supporters

President-elect Donald Trump has announced that he will appoint former congressman Lee Zeldin to run the Environmental Protection Agency.

“He will ensure fair and swift deregulatory decisions that will be enacted in a way to unleash the power of American businesses, while at the same time maintaining the highest environmental standards, including the cleanest air and water on the planet,” the incoming president said in a statement.

Zeldin said it is an “honor” to be selected by Trump as the next EPA administrator, and like Trump, emphasized that his priority will be growing American business.

Zeldin is on the board of the Republican Jewish Coalition. He is also co-chair of the House Republican Israel Caucus, and was a strong opponent of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, co-leading a House-passed resolution to combat it.

“We will restore US energy dominance, revitalize our auto industry to bring back American jobs, and make the US the global leader of AI. We will do so while protecting access to clean air and water,” he added.

As the head of a US federal agency, Zeldin’s appointment is subject to Senate review, though Trump has called for lawmakers to allow him to circumvent the Constitutionally-mandated practice to allow him to fill his cabinet quickly.

Trump has already selected staunchly pro-Israel U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik to be the next United States envoy to the U.N.

Dave DeCamp, news editor of Antiwar.com, says Stefanik led the charge against college students protesting against U.S. support for Israel, calling them “antisemitic.”

Last week, Stefanik called for the U.S. to defund the U.N.’s Palestine refugee agency or UNRWA, which provides critical humanitarian aid to the region.

As a congressperson, Stefanik has received over $820,000 from pro-Israel lobby.