US Senate confirms Zeldin as EPA adminstrator

By Valerie Volcovici

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. Senate on Wednesday voted 56-42 to confirm former Republican Congressman Lee Zeldin to lead the Environmental Protection Agency, tasked with rolling back climate rules from former President Joe Biden that were aimed at slashing emissions from vehicles, power plants and factories.

President Donald Trump picked Zeldin, 44, to lead EPA's deregulation efforts, lifting hurdles on oil and gas drilling and reversing course on the Biden administration's emissions rules aimed at spurring more electric vehicle use.

Three Democrats voted to back the former New York representative, Arizona Senators Mark Kelly and Ruben Gallego, as well as Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman.

Zeldin had sailed through his confirmation hearing this month, with some Democrats asking him to clarify Trump's and his own views on whether climate change is a threat and greenhouse gas emissions should be regulated.

Among the EPA's main actions will be to review the so-called "endangerment finding" - an agency determination that greenhouse gas emissions harm human health, which underpins the agency's ability to regulate the heat-trapping gases emitted by cars and smoke stacks.

Zeldin had told senators at the hearing that a 2007 decision by the Supreme Court gave the agency statutory authority to regulate the heat-trapping greenhouse gas but did not obligate the EPA to take action.

As a New York congressman, Zeldin voted against legislation on green issues and also voted against a measure to stop oil companies from price gouging. As a candidate for New York governor in the 2022 election, Zeldin criticized the state's decision to join California's Zero Emission Vehicle program that vows to end the sale of gasoline-powered only vehicles by 2035.

Trump has said he aims to reverse many rules administered by the EPA on the burning of fossil fuels including one curbing carbon emissions from power plants and another slashing such emissions from vehicles.

Trump has said he plans to begin rescinding EPA and Transportation Department vehicle pollution rules on his first day in office and is looking to pare back or eliminate EV tax breaks and other incentives.

Environmental groups panned the confirmation, saying that Zeldin will prioritize carrying out Trump's agenda rather than following environmental laws.

"As the administration moves to gut wildly popular clean energy investments and environmental protections, Zeldin has made clear he will fall in line, rolling back essential safeguards while Americans bear the cost," said Evergreen Action Executive Director Lena Moffitt.

Chair of the Senate Environment Committee, West Virginia Senator Shelley Moore Capito, applauded the confirmation, saying Zeldin is "well qualified and capable of returning the EPA to its core missions of protecting our land, air, and water, without inhibiting economic development."

(Additional reporting by Richard Cowan; Editing by Chris Reese and David Gregorio)