The Senate confirmed former New York Rep. Lee Zeldin as the next administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency in a bipartisan vote, paving the way for the Trump administration’s de-regulatory agenda.
Zeldin, 44, was confirmed Wednesday in a 56-42 vote, with Sen. John Fetterman and Arizona Sens. Mark Kelly and Ruben Gallego as the three Democrats voting in favor of his nomination. Zeldin is the seventh member of President Donald Trump’s Cabinet to be confirmed since the Republican assumed office.
While several centrist Democrats have indicated they support Trump’s other energy and environment nominees — Doug Burgum for secretary of interior and Chris Wright for secretary of energy — some opposed Zeldin.
Ahead of the vote, Sen. John Hickenlooper (D-CO) told Politico he would not be voting for Zeldin because he lacked experience on relevant committees during his time in Congress. Hickenlooper voted in favor of both Burgum and Wright while in committee. Sen. Martin Heinrich, who also supported Burgum and Wright in committee, voted against Zeldin on Wednesday.
Wednesday’s vote came just less than a week after his nomination was approved by the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, which moved his candidacy to the floor also in a bipartisan vote.
Zeldin, an unexpected pick to head up the EPA, has indicated his plans to support Trump’s goals of walking back numerous rules implemented by the previous administration.
In particular, he is expected to take aim at the EPA’s power plant pollution rule, which went into effect in July 2024 and targets carbon pollution from power plants to curb greenhouse gas emissions. The rule orders all operating coal plants and new natural-gas fired plants to reduce their emissions by 2032 by using carbon capture and storage technologies.
As this rule has been starkly criticized by Trump and his allies, it came as a bit of a surprise that the president did not directly target the regulations in his slew of energy-related executive orders during his first week in office.
However, he did provide instruction for his agency appointees to roll back the rule and similar regulations that the administration identified as “unduly burdensome” on the energy industry. Experts have indicated this may allow Zeldin and others to cast a wider net for the rules and regulations they plan to reverse.
In addition to the power plant rule, Zeldin is also expected to undo fees on methane emissions from oil and gas facilities that exceed certain thresholds as well as EPA emission standards for vehicles that have been labeled an “EV mandate.”
However, the Republican indicated last week that he would support the agency’s focus on reducing the pollution caused by “forever chemicals” known as perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). These chemicals are known to be found in a number of every-day products like clothing and cookware.
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During his confirmation hearing, the former congressman insisted the EPA “must be better stewards of tax dollars, honor cooperative federalism, and be transparent and accountable to the Congress and the public.”
“We can, and we must protect our precious environment without suffocating the economy,” Zeldin said. “A big part of this will require building private sector collaboration to promote common sense, smart regulation that will allow American innovation to continue to lead the world.”