Lee Zeldin confirmed to lead Trump’s Environmental Protection Agency

The Senate voted on Wednesday to confirm former Rep. Lee Zeldin to head the government’s leading agency on environmental rules and regulations.

President Donald Trump tapped Zeldin, who previously served as a congressman from New York’s 1st Congressional District from 2015 to 2023, to lead the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under his administration. During his tenure in Congress, Zeldin, an Army Reserve lieutenant colonel, launched a campaign for governor in New York, when he trailed only five percentage points in the largely Democratic state.

Zeldin underwent a confirmation hearing earlier this month, when he was questioned on climate change by members of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee.

In a 56 to 42 vote on Wednesday, the Senate confirmed Zeldin to head the EPA in a final floor vote on his nomination.

ZELDIN GRILLED BY DEMOCRATS ON CLIMATE CHANGE, TRUMP’S STANCE ON CARBON EMISSIONS DURING EPA HEARING

Former Rep. Lee Zeldin, President Donald Trump’s pick to head the EPA, appears before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee on Capitol Hill, Thursday, Jan. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

Zeldin will head the agency that surveys environmental issues, provides assistance to wide-ranging environmental projects, and establishes rules that align with the administration’s views on environmental protection and climate change. 

During his confirmation hearing, Zeldin pledged that if confirmed, he would “foster a collaborative culture within the agency, supporting career staff who have dedicated themselves to this mission. I strongly believe we have a moral responsibility to be good stewards of our environment for generations to come.”

Former Rep. Lee Zeldin, with athlete Riley Gaines, outside the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee on July 16, 2024. (J. Conrad Williams, Jr./Newsday RM)

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The latest round of voting comes as Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., continues to advance the confirmation process to push through Trump’s Cabinet nominees.