Senate confirms former Long Island congressman Lee Zeldin to lead Environmental Protection Agency
Former Rep. Lee Zeldin at his Senate Environment and Public Works confirmation hearing Jan. 16 on Capitol Hill in Washington. Credit: Getty Images/Anna Moneymaker
The Senate voted largely along party lines Wednesday to confirm former Long Island congressman Lee Zeldin’s nomination to lead the Environmental Protection Agency, which he promised lawmakers to make more business friendly.
All 53 Republicans and three Democrats voted for Zeldin to lead the independent agency, which has a $9 billion budget and more than 15,000 employees who are charged with protecting the environment, despite his limited experience in that science-laden field.
Zeldin, of Shirley, who turns 45 Thursday, will lead an agency that President Donald Trump has ordered to streamline regulations for oil drilling and whose administration has ousted members of the EPA’s scientific panels while staffing the EPA with oil and business lobbyists.
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