OAN Staff Abril Elfi
4:30 PM – Wednesday, January 29, 2025
Former GOP Representative Lee Zeldin has been confirmed by the United States Senate as the new Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) administrator.
On Wednesday, Zeldin was confirmed after a vote of 56-to-42.
Democrats Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), John Fetterman (D-Pa.), and Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) voted with Republicans in favor of his confirmation.
In a statement, President Donald Trump declared that Zeldin “has been a true fighter for America First politics.”
“He will ensure fair and swift deregulatory decisions that will be enacted in a way to unleash the power of American businesses, while at the same time maintaining the highest environmental standards, including the cleanest air and water on the planet,” Trump said. “He will set new standards on environmental review and maintenance that will allow the United States to grow in a healthy and well-structured way.”
Zeldin left congress in 2023.
He often spoke about certain issues related to today’s U.S. military, national security, anti-Semitism, U.S.-Israel relations, illegal immigration, and crime — on behalf of Trump and in his own campaign. Zeldin also pushed to change the designation of approximately 150 square miles of federal waters in Long Island Sound to state jurisdiction for New York and Rhode Island in 2016.
When Trump insisted he could compete in his majority-Democrat-voting home state, he frequently cited Zeldin’s performance in the 2022 gubernatorial contest, where the Republican performed significantly better than expected against Governor Kathy Hochul (D-N.Y).
Trump also performed much better in New York than he had in prior elections, especially in the Bronx, Brooklyn, and Queens — even though he did not win New York.
Meanwhile, GOP officials celebrated Zeldin’s confirmation, explaining that he will be able to implement Trump’s deregulatory agenda from the EPA’s top perch.
“Lee is primed and ready to slash the mountains of backwards regulations at the EPA to restore primacy of states and common sense,” said Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) in a written statement . “I look forward to working with him as he brings some sanity back to EPA and makes the bureaucracy work for the people it purportedly serves.”
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