The Senate on Wednesday voted to confirm Lee Zeldin to run the Environmental Protection Agency, where he will be charged with executing President Trump’s orders to dismantle major environmental regulations, and possibly parts of the 55-year-old agency itself.
The Senate voted 56-42 to confirm Mr. Zeldin, a former House member with little experience in environmental regulation. He is expected to work to erase rules to fight climate change and chemical pollution, while shutting down programs designed to help poor and minority communities that are disproportionately affected by pollution.
In his Senate confirmation hearing on Jan. 16, Mr. Zeldin told lawmakers that he would “enthusiastically uphold” the agency’s mission to protect human health and the environment, and that he grasped the basic science of climate change.
“I strongly believe we have a moral responsibility to be good stewards of our environment for generations to come,” he said.
But Mr. Zeldin has also been directed to dismantle the largest climate rule ever enacted by the federal government. The rule, finalized last year, would cut tailpipe emissions of greenhouse gases, the nation’s largest source of planet-warming pollution, by compelling automakers to increase sales of hybrid and all-electric vehicles.
Mr. Trump incorrectly refers to the rule as the “EV mandate”; the rule does not ban gas-powered vehicles.