Senate confirms Lee Zeldin to lead EPA

The Senate on Wednesday confirmed former Rep. Lee Zeldin to lead the Environmental Protection Agency.

The vote was 56-42. Only three Democrats — Sens. Ruben Gallego and Mark Kelly of Arizona and John Fetterman of Pennsylvania — voted with Republicans in support of the nomination.

Mr. Kelly said he voted for Mr. Zeldin because he believes he’s qualified for the job.

“We don’t agree on everything. There’s actually some stuff I have an issue with,” he said. “But we do agree on some things, and I think he will be capable of managing the agency.”

Mr. Zeldin, 44, served four terms in the House. Instead of seeking reelection in 2022, he ran for governor of New York. While he lost to incumbent Gov. Kathy Hochul, Mr. Zeldin received more votes than any other GOP gubernatorial nominee had earned from New Yorkers in years.

Senate Republican Whip John Barrasso of Wyoming touted Mr. Zeldin’s congressional experience, service as a lieutenant colonel in the Army Reserves and his “sharp legal mind.”  

“As 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,’” Mr. Barrasso said.

He said Mr. Zeldin will help President Trump roll back regulations, like the Biden administration’s electric vehicle mandates.

“Lee knows that innovation, not government intervention, is the best solution to lower prices, to grow the economy, and to protect our environment,” Mr. Barrasso said.

During his confirmation hearing, Mr. Zeldin said he believes climate change is real and defended Mr. Trump’s comments on it being a hoax as references to policy solutions that were unfair to the U.S.

“I think that he’s concerned about the economic costs of some policies,” Mr. Zeldin said, noting he plans to “protect our precious environment without suffocating the economy.”

• Tom Howell Jr. contributed to this report.