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On Friday’s Chris Salcedo Show, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin made no apology for saying what hardworking Americans already know: radical green mandates are hollow victories for coastal elites and a real economic drag on blue states that chase them. Zeldin told Salcedo that these policies are driving revenue and businesses away from states that embrace ideological energy plans over common-sense energy independence.
The new EPA under Zeldin has moved quickly to reverse the regulatory overreach of the previous administration, launching what his office called the largest deregulatory effort in U.S. history and targeting some 31 rulemakings that strangled industry and raised costs for families. This rollback isn’t about abandoning environmental stewardship; it’s about restoring balance, accountability, and the ability of states and businesses to innovate without being crushed by Washington diktats.
Zeldin hasn’t just talked; he’s acted. The agency has paused or frozen massive green-subsidy programs, including a $20 billion Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund that critics say routed money through unaccountable actors, and the EPA has moved to cancel ill-advised internal spending while clawing back grants that looked more like political patronage than sound investments. Those moves exposed how green schemes often funnel taxpayer dollars into insider networks while leaving everyday families to foot the higher energy bills.
He’s also been blunt about the consequences in blue states that double down on unrealistic targets: Zeldin called New York’s Climate Act “delusional,” warning that trying to replace reliable baseload power with intermittent sources without a practical plan is a recipe for higher costs and economic pain. The pause on projects like Empire Wind underlines a simple fact conservatives have been saying for years — you cannot force an energy transition with mandates and expect the lights to stay on or the economy to thrive.
This is not theoretical. The flight of people and payroll out of high-tax, over-regulated states has been a reality for years, and Zeldin’s critiques echo what local leaders and business owners see every day: punishing taxes, bans on practical energy sources, and activist-driven planning push jobs to friendlier states. That geographic redistribution of wealth and opportunity is no accident; it’s the predictable outcome when policy rewards ideology over prosperity.
Conservatives should be proud that the EPA is finally rejecting the false choice between a healthy environment and a prosperous economy, insisting instead on innovation, permitting reform, and common-sense federalism that returns power to states and communities. If deregulation and smarter policy can lower energy costs, revive manufacturing, and give taxpayers a break, then this is the kind of government action that deserves support, not scorn.
Now is the moment for citizens and leaders in every state to push back against virtue-signaling mandates that hollow out their tax base and raise costs for ordinary families. Vote for accountability, demand real plans that include reliable energy and affordability, and support public officials who put American workers and consumers ahead of woke photo ops. Our country can protect its environment without kneecapping its economy — and Lee Zeldin’s approach is a welcome return to sanity for the sake of every hardworking American.
