Lee Zeldin, a former Republican congressman and staunch Trump ally, was confirmed by the Senate as the new head of the Environmental Protection Agency. The vote, largely along party lines, marks a significant shift in environmental policy, as Zeldin is expected to prioritize rolling back regulations and promoting fossil fuel interests.
The Republican-controlled Senate on Wednesday confirmed Lee Zeldin to lead the Environmental Protection Agency, a key role to help President Donald Trump fulfill his pledge to roll back major environmental regulation s, including those aimed at slowing climate change and encouraging use of electric vehicles. The vote was 56-42 in Zeldin's favor. Three Democrats — Sens. Ruben Gallego and Mark Kelly of Arizona and John Fetterman of Pennsylvania — supported Zeldin, along with all 53 Republicans.
Zeldin, a former Republican congressman from New York, is a longtime Trump ally and served on Trump’s defense team during his first impeachment. He voted against certifying Trump’s 2020 election loss to President Joe Biden.Zeldin, during his confirmation hearing, reiterated that he has a moral responsibility to be a good steward of the environment and pledged to support career staff who have dedicated themselves to the agency's mission to protect human health and the environment. Zeldin repeatedly declined to commit to specific policies, however, promising instead not to prejudge outcomes before arriving at EPA. When asked by Republican Sen. Pete Ricketts of Nebraska whether he would roll back programs that promote electric cars — a program Trump has repeatedly criticized — Zeldin stayed vague but acknowledged he has heard Republican complaints.Trump, who has called climate change a hoax, has vowed to overturn former President Joe Biden’s biggest climate accomplishments, including those aimed at transitioning the nation away from coal and natural gas. Trump has already moved to oust career staff at EPA and other agencies, remove scientific advisers and Biden’s efforts to rejoin the Paris Agreement on climate change.Democratic Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island called Zeldin the wrong man for the job. “We need an EPA administrator who will take climate change seriously, treat the science honestly and stand up where necessary to the political pressure that will be coming from the White House, where we have a president who actually thinks (climate change) is a hoax, and from the huge fossil fuel forces that propelled him into office with enormous amounts of political money and who now think they own the place,' Whitehouse said in a Senate speech. Trump is “under the thumb of the fossil fuel industry,” Whitehouse said, adding that the EPA administrator “has to be truthful and factual and support and defend our environment and our safety from climate change.'' He has nothing against Zeldin personally, Whitehouse added, “but the likelihood of him standing against that fossil fuel bulldozer that is coming at him is essentially zero. And in that context, this is very much the wrong guy.” Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., said Zeldin will return the EPA to its original mission of protecting America’s air, water and land — without “suffocating the economy.” Barrasso called Zeldin “a lifelong public servant” and a seasoned lawyer with a sharp legal mind and over 20 years of military service
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