Trump’s EPA Pick Lee Zeldin Says Agency Authorized, Not Required, to Regulate Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Lee Zeldin, a former Republican congressman Trump picked to lead the Environmental Protection Agency, faced questions on climate change, regulations and energy production during his confirmation hearing at the US senate.

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Lee Zeldin, president-elect Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Environmental Protection Agency, on Thursday hesitated to answer questions about the agency’s role in reducing US reliance on fossil fuels, despite acknowledging that climate change is real and a threat.

During his Senate confirmation hearing, which lasted little over three hours, the former Republican congressman faced questions on climate change, regulations and energy production.

Democratic Senator Ed Markey questioned Zeldin, 44, about the role of the EPA. Citing a comment Zeldin made in 2016, Markey asked if he still believed it was the agency’s job to reduce US reliance on fossil fuels.

“In an ideal world, we would be able to pursue the cleanest, greenest energy possible,” Zeldin said, without directly answering the question, prompting Markey to say his change of tone was driven by “politics, and not the science.”

The senator then questioned Zeldin on a 2007 Supreme Court ruling – Massachusetts v EPA – which Markey said “mandated” the EPA to regulate greenhouse gases as air pollutants. “Do you accept that as a mandate?” the senator asked.

“I just want to be accurate and in citing Massachusetts v EPA, the decision does not require the EPA, it authorizes it,” Zeldin replied.

In the ruling, the Supreme Court held that the agency has indeed the authority to regulate greenhouse gases as air pollutants under the Clean Air Act. It did not mandate specific regulations but authorized the EPA to consider regulating greenhouse gases if they pose a threat to public health and welfare, effectively granting the agency the power to address climate change through regulatory action. However, the court also ruled that the EPA could not refuse to exercise this authority for policy reasons, and could only do so “if it developed a record of evidence either showing that greenhouse gases did not in fact contribute to climate change, or alternatively offering a reasonable explanation as to why the agency’s actions would be inappropriate.”

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Fossil Fuel Dependency

During the hearing, Zeldin acknowledged the reality of climate change, contrasting with previous EPA leaders under the Trump administration and Trump himself, a climate denier who repeatedly dismissed climate change as a “hoax.” The president-elect has threatened to reverse many of President Joe Biden’s climate policies, including the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) – the largest climate bill in the country’s history – and EPA regulations targeting emissions from vehicles.

But Zeldin refused to directly address the need to reduce reliance on fossil fuels.

Fossil fuels – natural gas, coal, and oil – are the single-largest source of global greenhouse gas emissions, the primary drivers of global warming by trapping heat in the atmosphere and raising Earth’s surface temperature. The International Energy Agency has urged countries to halt new gas and oil field projects, arguing that this is the only way to keep the 1.5C-compatible net-zero emissions scenario alive.

“The American people elected President Trump last November in part due to serious concerns about upward economic mobility and their struggle to make ends meet,” Zeldin said. “We can, and we must, protect our precious environment without suffocating the economy,” he added, emphasizing the need for an approach that supports all sources of energy.

Questioned by Democratic Senator Sheldon Whitehouse on his ties to a “climate denial front group,” Zeldin vowed to maintain independence from the fossil fuel industry.

“There is no dollar, large or small, that can influence the decisions that I make, who has access to me and how I am ruling in my obligations under the law,” he said.

Anti-Climate Agenda

During his time in Congress between 2015 and 2023, Zeldin supported just 14% of key pieces of environmental legislation, according to a scorecard by environmental group the League of Conservation Voters.

The former Representative from New York voted against Biden’s IRA. He also opposed clean water and clean air protections and the EPA’s methane pollution safeguards, and he campaigned against a ban on petrol cars in New York by 2035 that Trump is not threatening to terminate.

In a statement issued by the League of Conservation Voters, Senior Vice President for Government Affairs, Tiernan Sittenfeld said the stakes for the climate and future generations “could not be higher.”

“Trump made his anti-climate action, anti-environment agenda very clear during his first term and again during his 2024 campaign. During the confirmation process, we would challenge Lee Zeldin to show how he would be better than Trump’s campaign promises or his own failing 14% environmental score if he wants to be charged with protecting the air we breathe, the water we drink, and finding solutions to climate change,” Sittenfeld said. 

In November, following Trump’s decision to have Zeldin lead the EPA, the former congressman wrote on social media X (formerly Twitter) that he was “looking forward” to take up the position “to unleash US energy dominance, make America the AI capital of the world, bring American auto jobs back home, and so much more.”

Featured image: Gage Skidmore/Flickr.

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