Then-Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-Shirley) arranged the event after Long Island officials and local environmental activists complained that the only federal hearing on the 2018 presidential executive order to allow that oil exploration and drilling had been held in Albany. Legal challenges eventually blocked the drilling.

With a Republican majority in Congress and Zeldin promising to “deregulate” the EPA, the new Trump administration will prioritize fossil fuel interests over environmental protection.

Despite his pro-environment votes—especially to protect Long Island’s coast—the former New York congressman is expected to be on board with the president-elect’s climate policy. By tapping former New York Representative Lee Zeldin to head the Environmental Protection Agency,