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Environmentalists said a ritual at the office of Lee Zeldin, the agency head, highlighted a disconnect between religious principles and looser health and climate protections.
May 9, 2025Updated 2:23 p.m. ET
It was a moment of religious reflection, perhaps a rare one, in a Washington federal building.
Lee Zeldin, the first Jewish administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, on Thursday affixed a mezuza — a parchment scroll inscribed with Jewish prayers, encased in a small rectangular case — to the door frame of his wood-paneled executive office at the agency’s headquarters on Pennsylvania Avenue.
The grandson and great-grandson of rabbis, Mr. Zeldin invited the media, saying he wanted to offer others “a moment to take a break from their normal routine, and to reflect and think about some other spiritual aspects of their day and their life.”
He was joined by other members of the Trump administration and representatives from several Jewish organizations. A rabbi attached a second mezuza to another door frame inside the office suite.
A mezuza has verses from the Torah, which commands Jews to inscribe those Hebrew words “on the door posts of your house.” A mezuza is not required in the workplace, but they are increasingly common in Washington. Several members of Congress have placed mezuzas at their office doors. And, during the Biden administration, Doug Emhoff, the husband of former Vice President Kamala Harris, affixed one at the entryway of their official residence.
Many Jewish religious leaders praised Mr. Zeldin for publicly celebrating his identity. But for Jewish environmental activists, the reflection was on something different: Mr. Zeldin’s role in weakening rules designed to limit pollution and global warming.
The obligation to repair the world, or tikkun olam, is a central concept of Judaism. But in his position as leader of the E.P.A., Mr. Zeldin is overseeing a profound overhaul of the agency. He is seeking to reduce staffing to levels last seen during the Reagan administration and working to weaken or repeal more than 30 regulations — all of which are considered burdensome by oil, gas and coal companies — that protect the air, water and climate.
