The former New York congressman will lead the agency, whose budget and scope the Trump administration is certain to slash.
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.”
