Senate Confirms Lee Zeldin To Be Trump’s EPA Administrator

On Wednesday, Lee Zeldin received Senate confirmation to become administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the latest of President Donald Trump‘s second-term nominees to get approval from the upper chamber of Congress.

The GOP-led Senate voted 56-42 to confirm Zeldin, a former Republican congressman from New York, to take on the Cabinet role. Sens. John Fetterman (D-PA), Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), and Mark Kelly (D-AZ) broke ranks and voted for Zeldin with their GOP colleagues. Two Democrat senators did not vote.

“CONFIRMED! Thank You to the 56 Senators for your vote and confidence,” Zeldin said in a post to X. “Grateful to President [Trump] for having the faith in me to be part of his Cabinet as [EPA] Administrator. Make America Great Again!”

✅ CONFIRMED! Thank You to the 56 Senators for your vote and confidence.

Grateful to President @realDonaldTrump for having the faith in me to be part of his Cabinet as @EPA Administrator. 

Make America Great Again!????????

— Lee Zeldin (@LeeMZeldin) January 29, 2025

Trump announced that he was nominating Zeldin, who served eight years in the House and ran a competitive but unsuccessful campaign against New York Democrat Governor Kathy Hochul in 2022, for the EPA administrator position back in November.

“Lee, with a very strong legal background, has been a true fighter for America First policies. 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,” Trump continued, adding, “I have known Lee Zeldin for a long time, and have watched him handle, brilliantly, some extremely difficult and complex situations. I am very proud to have him in the Trump Administration, where he will quickly prove to be a great contributor!”

Zeldin testified in a confirmation hearing earlier this month and later advanced out of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee by an 11-8 vote. He is the seventh person to obtain Senate approval to join Trump’s second-term Cabinet after Secretary of State Marco Rubio, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy.

WATCH: EPA Administrator Nominee Lee Zeldin Opening Statement pic.twitter.com/uRlhx7OrDP

— CSPAN (@cspan) January 16, 2025

Other nominees are still working their way through the Senate. Democrats have sought to impede the confirmation process, such as forcing procedural votes, an effort that has earned stern rebukes from the GOP.

“It’s day 10 of Pres. Trump’s admin, & Senate Democrats are still using every trick in the book to delay & obstruct Pres. Trump’s team,” Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) said in a post to X, adding that former President Barack Obama “had 22 nominees confirmed by now! Trump only has 7. Pres. Trump needs his full team in place to help make America great again. We won’t stop until every last nominee is confirmed.”