Senate Confirms Lee Zeldin as EPA Administrator, 56 to 42: Sworn In the Same Day as 17th Administrator
The U.S. Senate in Washington voted 56 to 42 on January 29, 2025, to confirm former Representative Lee Zeldin as administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Zeldin was sworn in the same day as the agency's 17th administrator, with Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh administering the oath.
The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee had advanced the nomination to the full Senate by a vote of 11 to 8. At his January 16 confirmation hearing, Zeldin said the EPA's mission is to protect human health and the environment. President Donald Trump nominated him days after the 2024 election.
"It is my honor to serve as the 17th Environmental Protection Agency Administrator," Zeldin said on taking office. "Under President Trump's leadership, we will take great strides to defend every American's access to clean air, clean water, and clean land." He said he would also prioritize economic prosperity and work with the agency's staff and scientists.
Zeldin served in the New York State Senate and represented New York's 1st Congressional District in the U.S. House from 2015 to 2023, and ran for governor of New York in 2022. He has served in the military for 22 years, deployed to Iraq in 2006 with the Army's 82nd Airborne Division, and continues to serve as a lieutenant colonel in the Army Reserve.
(Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency)
Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：Lee Zeldin 官方肖像。（美国众议院官方照片，公共领域，经 Wikimedia Commons） / Photo: Official portrait of Lee Zeldin. (U.S. House of Representatives photo, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)
