Trump EPA nominee Lee Zeldin says climate change is real

Former Rep. Lee Zeldin, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Environmental Protection Agency, told senators on Thursday that climate change is real but that other nations are not doing enough to cut their carbon emissions.

Mr. Zeldin, a Republican from New York, acknowledged concerns about heat-trapping gases like carbon dioxide and methane and rising sea levels. He said emissions have decreased in the U.S. in recent decades and other large nations should follow suit.

“I believe that climate change is real,” Mr. Zeldin told Sen. Bernard Sanders, Vermont independent, during a confirmation hearing before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee.

But he defended his future boss, Mr. Trump, saying the president-elect’s comments about climate change being a hoax were related to policy solutions that were unfair to the U.S.

“I think that he’s concerned about the economic costs of some policies,” Mr. Zeldin said.

Speaking generally, Mr. Zeldin said it would be possible to protect the environment without stifling economic opportunity.

“We can and we must protect our precious environment without suffocating the economy,” he said.

Sen. John Barrasso, Wyoming Republican, established that balance as a theme from the outset in a formal introduction for the EPA nominee.

“He understands we must be good stewards of the environment without crippling the economy,” Mr. Barrasso said.

Mr. Zeldin, 44, was raised on Long Island and went to college and law school in New York state. He served in the state Legislature in Albany for three years before his election to the U.S. House, where he served from 2015 to 2023.

Mr. Zeldin ran for governor in 2022 but lost to incumbent Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul in the general election.

The congressman emerged as a key Trump ally during the president-elect’s first term. He gained prominence as an arch-defender of Mr. Trump during impeachment proceedings over Mr. Trump’s call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in 2019.

Mr. Trump repaid that support by selecting him for his Cabinet.

During Senate testimony, Mr. Zeldin noted that he represented a New York district surrounded by water. He pointed to efforts to clean up plastic pollution and protect the Long Island Sound.

“I strongly believe we have a moral responsibility to be good stewards of our environment for generations to come,” Mr. Zeldin said.

Committee Republicans urged Mr. Zeldin to maintain a healthy balance between federal power and state control of things like waterways.

Sen. Sheldon White House, Rhode Island Democrat, used his time on the dais to pivot the discussion toward climate change, saying the devastation is evident on both coasts and raising costs for everyone.

“Good luck with property insurance in Florida and California,” Mr. Whitehouse said.

The senator scolded Mr. Trump for courting fossil-fuel companies during the campaign.

“These special interests now expect a return on their political investment,” Mr. Whitehouse said. “They expect a reversal of our already limited protections for our air and water.”

During questioning, Mr. Whitehouse got Mr. Zeldin to acknowledge that certain gas emissions can trap heat in the atmosphere. The nominee declined, however, to get into specific temperature thresholds that might signal a global crisis.

“That is something where I have to defer to the talented scientists [at EPA],” Mr. Zeldin said.d