On January 29, Lee Zeldin’s nomination process concluded with a 56-42 vote confirming his appointment as the 17th administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). He was sworn in that day. AGC of America submitted to the record a letter of support for Mr. Zeldin’s nomination ahead of his confirmation hearing in the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works.
At his January 16th confirmation hearing, Zeldin expressed a willingness to reach across party lines to build private sector collaboration, promote common-sense regulations, and hold the agency accountable.
Shortly after taking the lead at EPA, on February 4, Zeldin announced a new initiative for “Powering the Great American Comeback” and consisting of five pillars:
- Clean air, land, and water for every American;
- Restore American energy dominance;
- Permitting reform, cooperative federalism, and cross-agency partnership;
- Make the United States the artificial intelligence capital of the world; and
- Protecting and bringing back American auto jobs.
As previously reported, Lee Zeldin is a former representative from New York and served in the U.S. Congress from 2015-2023 where he voted for the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act of 2015. He also addressed issues such as the restoration of Long Island Sound, climate, and EPA funding and reform.
For more information, contact Melinda Tomaino at melinda.tomaino@agc.org.