Environmental Protection Agency Administrator-designate Lee Zeldin pledged during his Senate confirmation hearing Thursday to roll back federal directives while still guarding “human health and the environment.”
In his opening statement to the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, Zeldin, 44, warned that red tape was “suffocating the economy” and promised that if confirmed, he would engage with members of both parties as well as the private sector to preserve clean air and water.
“We must do everything in our power to harness the greatness of American innovation with the greatness of American conservation and environmental stewardship,” Zeldin said. “We must ensure we are protecting our environment, while also protecting our economy.”
The former Suffolk County lawmaker, also touted his history of maneuvering bipartisan bills to crack down on pollution and clean up waterways through Congress.
“My district on the eastern end of Long Island was unique in that it was almost completely surrounded by water,” Zeldin said. “My constituents took environmental issues very seriously, and I developed a record in Congress [of] fighting hard and with great success advancing their local priorities.
“I worked across party lines to preserve the Long Island Sound and Plum Island. I supported key legislation that became historic bipartisan success stories like the Great American Outdoors Act and Senator [Dan] Sullivan and White House’s Save Our Seas Act to clean up plastics from our oceans … I was proud to do my part to secure these environmental victories.”
When President-elect Donald Trump tapped Zeldin to lead the EPA, he promised his pick had “a very strong legal background” which “will ensure fair and swift deregulatory decisions … while at the same time maintaining the highest environmental standards.”
Trump has vowed to increase domestic oil and gas production in his second term, with more fracking and liquid natural gas exports.
President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris — who once vowed to ban fracking while a presidential candidate in 2020 — pursued energy policies that they claimed would set the US up for net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
Their administration paused export permits for liquified natural gas, scrapped or stalled new oil and gas pipelines and attempted to bar new permits for drilling on federal land — while handing out billions for various environmental programs.
“The EPA should also better manage taxpayer dollars,” Chairwoman Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) said in her opening statement. “When the EPA focuses on what it does best, it doesn’t just benefit the environment, it benefits our economic growth.”
Capito also drew attention to the risks of renewable energy, highlighting how reports show “more than half” of the US “could experience rolling blackouts in the next decade because of the lack of reliable power capacity.”
“Spiking energy costs and rolling blackouts are an unacceptable fact if the US is to continue as a global leader,” she added. “I fully expect that your confirmation will be very positive.”
Democrats on the panel expressed skepticism, with Ranking Member Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) pressing Zeldin to ensure that he would not “be merely a rubber stamp for looters and polluters who are setting the Trump agenda.”
“There is no dollar — large or small — that can influence the decisions that I make, who has access to me and how I am ruling in my obligations under the law,” Zeldin answered.
“Well good luck standing up to these guys,” Whitehouse responded, “because they’re gonna come at ya.”
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) further harped on Trump’s previous statements about climate change being a “hoax” — claiming the “apocalyptic” wildfires in Los Angeles earlier this month were driven by an extreme weather patterns beforehand.
“I believe that climate change is real,” Zeldin told Sanders,arguing Trump was only “concerned about the economic costs of some policies.”
Sanders wasn’t convinced, citing 2024 as the hottest year on record globally and alerting the president-elect’s nominee to the “existential threat” posed by rising temperatures, while singling out China as the top global carbon-emitter.
“We’re not going to solve this crisis without working with China,” Sanders said.
“Right now, China is an adversary, in many respects,” Zeldin replied, while adding that he would still be “in communication” with it and other nations.
Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) later accused Zeldin of being the fossil fuel industry’s lapdog.
“The EPA is supposed to be an environmental watchdog,” Markey said. “Do you believe it’s imperative that we reduce our reliance on fossil fuels?”
Zeldin responded that ideally the EPA would pursue both the “cleanest” and “greenest” energy solutions.
Zeldin, who left Congress in 2022 to pursue an unsuccessful run for governor of New York, is expected to be confirmed by the full Senate.
In a possible good sign for the nomination’s fortune, Sanders had a ready quip when his phone rang and interrupted questioning.
“Sorry, that was the fossil fuel industry,” the Vermonter joked, prompting laughter in the hearing room.
