WASHINGTON -- Former Long Island congressman Lee Zeldin denied that he will favor industry over the environment and declared he thinks climate change is real as he faced questions Thursday on his nomination to be the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.
Zeldin, 44, is from New York. He served eight years in Congress and lost a race for governor in 2022. He is expected to push deregulation.
Two New York Republicans are headed to the Trump cabinet with Rep. Elise Stefanik as United Nations ambassador and Lee Zeldin as EPA administrator.
Former Rep. Lee Zeldin, R-N.Y., President-elect Donald Trump's pick to head the Environmental Protection Agency, appears before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee on Capitol Hill, Thursday, Jan. 16, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
Long Island environmentalists offered mixed reviews of Lee Zeldin's answers during his Senate confirmation hearing for EPA administrator.
WASHINGTON — The Republican-controlled Senate on Wednesday confirmed Lee Zeldin to lead the Environmental Protection Agency, a key role to help President Donald Trump fulfill his pledge to roll back major environmental regulations, including those aimed at slowing climate change and encouraging use of electric vehicles.
Former LI congressman Lee Zeldin said he will not favor industry over the environment and declared that "climate change is real" at a Senate hearing Thursday on his nomination. NewsdayTV's Ken Buffa reports.
Several Democrats voted in favor of Zeldin, a former lawmaker from New York who will oversee an agency tasked with protecting the environment and public health.
President Donald Trump withdrew a Biden administration plan to set new limits on chemical discharge into drinking water, worrying some Long Island leaders.
Lee Zeldin, a former state senator who also represented the 1st Congressional District, is now the head of the Environmental Protection Agency for President Donald Trump. Not since William Casey of Roslyn Harbor served six years as director of the CIA in the Reagan administration has a Long Islander served in a presidential cabinet.
Zeldin has little experience heading an agency. Former U.S. Rep. Lee Zeldin, a Long Island Republican and President-elect Donald J. Trump's pick to head the Environmental Protection Agency ...