Former New York Congressman Lee Zeldin has been confirmed by the Senate to lead the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which, under President Donald Trump, is expected to see a significant slash in regulatory oversight and manpower.
The Senate endorsed Zeldin as EPA director on Jan. 29 in a 56–42 partisan vote amid objections by some Democrats who said they fear the Long Island Republican will dismantle an agency targeted by conservatives and industry as a regulatory obstacle in economic and energy development.
Sens. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), Ruben Gallego (D-N.M.), and John Fetterman (D-Pa.) were the only Democrats to join all 53 Senate Republicans in endorsing Zeldin’s nomination.
“If we want to restore our energy dominance, we have to start saying ‘yes’ to American energy, ‘yes’ to an ‘all-of-the-above’ energy strategy that ... includes everything from oil and gas to hydropower and biofuels, everything, we need all of it,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) said during chamber deliberations.
Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) joined Thune in reciting lengthy lists of EPA rules and regulations imposed under the Biden administration, specifically referring to the Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule, the ‘Good Neighbor’ rule, the Clean Power Plan 2.0, and vehicle emission rules that they said hamstring domestic energy development for dubious climate and environmental goals.
“[Zeldin] recognizes the EPA can’t be a hammer in search of nails and that EPA rules have to be balanced with the needs of our economy, our national security, and the American people,” Thune said. “He also understands the importance of collaboration with stakeholders, something that was too often lacking in the Biden administration.”
Barrasso said: “Environmental protection and economic growth should go hand in hand. They are not mutually exclusive. As the head of the EPA, Lee will return the agency to its original mission of protecting America’s air, water, and land without, as he puts it, ‘suffocating the economy.’”
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) was the only Democrat to argue against Zeldin’s ascension, claiming that he would be no more than a rubber-stamp for Trump, who he said is “under the thumb of the fossil fuel industry.”
“In that context, I have nothing against Lee Zeldin personally, but the likelihood of him standing against that fossil fuel bulldozer that is coming at him is essentially zero, and that fossil fuel bulldozer is also going to be bulldozing their way into American homes in the form of an insurance crisis that is looming,” Whitehouse said. “In that context, this is very much the wrong guy.”
Zeldin, who turns 45 on Jan. 30, is a U.S. Army Iraq War veteran, Army National Guard lieutenant colonel, and former attorney for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.
In Congress, he served on the House Foreign Affairs Committee and House Financial Services Committee. As one of two Jewish Republicans in the chamber, he co-chaired the House Republican Israel Caucus.
Zeldin was one of eight House Republicans who served on Trump’s impeachment defense team during his first impeachment trial in 2020 and voted against certifying the 2020 election.
Congressional Republicans say the Biden administration’s proposed $11 billion EPA budget for fiscal year 2025, which calls for hiring at least 1,000 more employees, will be scaled back during budget reconciliation in February.
In the first year of his first term, Trump slashed the EPA budget by 31 percent and capped employees at 11,611. He appears set to do so again even without congressional Republicans’ budget cuts.
He was asked to elaborate on a 2016 statement he made while debating Democrat congressional challenger Anna Throne-Holst that the key to environmental management was “to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels, to become more environmentally friendly, and pursue clean and green energy.”
“Considering all factors,” he told senators, “in an ideal world, we would be able to pursue always the cleanest, greenest energy sources possible.”
“I believe that climate change is real,” Zeldin told Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.).
Trump’s characterizations of it as a “hoax” was a criticism of over-reactions and restrictions on U.S. industry that don’t hamper other nations, Zeldin said.
He acknowledged a link between carbon dioxide emissions and ocean acidification and described rising sea levels as a problem.
“That’s what the scientists tell me,” he said when asked if greenhouse gas emissions were warming the oceans.
Large-scale carbon dioxide emission “certainly needs to be focused on for the EPA” because carbon dioxide and methane emissions trap heat, Zeldin said.
A former member of the bipartisan Climate Solutions Caucus, Zeldin spoke about the need for bipartisanship.
He quoted former President John F. Kennedy, saying, “The American people need leaders who can find common ground to solve the urgent issues we face.”
