January 2026: TRUMP PRESIDENCY EPA Chief Lee Zeldin Attacks ‘Dishonest’ New York Times over Gold-Standard Pollution Rules

EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin attacked the “dishonest” New York Times for pushing a “fake news claim” that the agency is no longer considering “lives saved” when setting regulations
“Yet another dishonest, fake news claim courtesy of the New York Times. Not only is the EXACT OPPOSITE of this headline the actual truth, but the Times is already VERY WELL AWARE that EPA will still be considering lives saved when setting pollution limits. The

Times’ unyielding commitment to destroying journalism is second to none,” Zeldin wrote on X about the Times‘ article, “E.P.A. to Stop Considering Lives Saved When Setting Rules on Air Pollution.”
An EPA spokesperson has said that the agency is committed to using “gold standard” science in its rulemaking and that many of these models are either “outdated” or “inaccurate” to place monetary values on human health.
“EPA is committed to using only the most accurate and up-to-date gold standard of science in our decision-making. This is the high scientific standard the Trump EPA set for the agency on day one, and that the agency works tirelessly to live up to. Continuing to use outdated or inaccurate models to place monetary values on human health would not be meeting the scientific standard we demand of ourselves,” the spokesperson explained in a statement to Breitbart News.
“The agency will continue to value, account, and evaluate for the human health impacts of PM2.5 and ozone in our rulemaking, and understands the extreme importance this has for our country. This temporary pause of not monetizing the impacts is about making sure the methods are sound, not about walking away from the duties of our core mission — to protect human health and the environment.” Breitbart