Republican Lee Zeldin ran a tough campaign for governor in 2022 when he unsuccessfully tried to unseat Gov. Kathy Hochul.

Now, the former congressman is wearing a new political hat — the head of the Environmental Protection Agency.

Zeldin is charged with fulfilling the environmental goals and economic priorities of President Donald Trump’s White House.

“We started talking on Wednesday, the day after the election, and we were talking about different positions,” recalled Zeldin — one of the first people Trump called after the Republican won the White House for a second time.

“He was decisive. He knew that he wanted me to come serve as the administrator of the EPA,” he said.

Sitting down for an exclusive interview with Spectrum News NY1 in Lower Manhattan on Thursday, Zeldin described how he’ll fulfill the regulatory agency’s self-described mission of protecting human health and the environment. 

“It’s important for us to urgently do everything in our power to make sure that Americans have the cleanest air, land and water. That is something that keeps me up at night,” he explained.

As a former U.S. congressman and New York state senator, he helped clean up the Long Island Sound, opposed some offshore drilling projects and backed limits on “forever chemicals,” also known as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS.

“I would say the Clean Water Act, the Safe Drinking Water Act, the Clean Air Act, and others, the toxic substantive substances chemicals act. These are historic pieces of legislation,” he argued. “The changes that were made in the Biden administration are resulting in what’s called passive receivers where a local water municipality are getting hit with the bill, and then what do they do with it? They pass it on to the consumer. I don’t agree with an approach where the consumer has to pay for cleaning up the PFAs contamination in their community.”

He’s also tasked with helping Trump execute administration priorities.

After voting against President Joe Biden’s 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, he’s now canceling $20 billion in climate funding grants — although it’s unclear how much applies to New York projects.

“I just canceled a $50 million grant to Climate Justice Alliance,” he explained. “So, eight entities received $20 billion and then they distribute to recipients all over the darn place. That is not a process that is accountable to the EPA, to the government, to the taxpayer.”

Before Zeldin’s U.S. Senate confirmation, the White House signaled a reversal of Biden-era gas car bans, lower emissions standards and also canceled offshore wind leases and permitting agreements on federal lands.

He says he backs Trump’s position on offshore wind.

“We’re not going to be unleashing energy dominance across this country by falling back and looking at wind as the answer and turning away from everything else,” he pledged.

He thinks New York is behind the eight ball by restricting fracking and approving controversial — and costly — emission standards under a 2019 law.

“I have long advocated for the safe extraction of natural gas in the Southern Tier,” he said.

Longtime allies, Zeldin defended Trump during his 2020 impeachment inquiry.

Trump endorsed Zeldin ahead of his failed 2022 gubernatorial run, but he got more votes than any other GOP candidate since Nelson Rockefeller in 1971.

Although Zeldin wouldn’t say whether he thinks a Republican has a shot at taking out Hochul in 2026, he cautioned, “Maybe it’s too late for someone to be able to get it right to win the next election that they have ahead, but it’s never too late to do the right thing.”

On Mayor Eric Adams’ shot of running as a Republican for mayor, Zeldin said he worked well with him when the pair served in the state Senate.

“At the end of the day, the voters of New York City will decide who they want to be their mayor. In the meantime, as long as Eric Adams is in that seat, I’ll be rooting for him to do the best job that he possibly can every day. And it’s not about Eric Adams, it’s about the people in New York City,” he added.