Senate Confirms Lee Zeldin as Head of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

The Republican-controlled U.S. Senate on Wednesday voted positively for Lee Zeldin as the head of the "Environmental Protection Agency of the United States." According to the Associated Press, this is an important position to assist Donald Trump, the President of the United States, in fulfilling his commitment to repeal some significant environmental regulations, including those aimed at reducing climate change and encouraging the use of electric vehicles. Zeldin, a former Republican congressman from New York, is a long-time ally of Trump. The 44-year-old stated during his Senate confirmation hearing that he has a moral responsibility to be a good steward of the environment and pledged to support the professional staff dedicated to the agency's mission of protecting human health and the environment. 56 senators, all Republicans along with three Democrats, voted in favor of Zeldin, while 42 senators voted against him. Sheldon Whitehouse, a representative from Rhode Island, deemed Zeldin unsuitable for the position. The Democratic senator stated that Trump is influenced by fossil fuel industries and that the head of the EPA should be someone honest who supports and defends the environment and public safety against climate change. Republican Senator John Barrasso described Zeldin as a "lifetime servant" of the people and a "seasoned attorney" with a smart legal mindset and twenty years of military experience, stating that he would return the EPA to its core mission of "protecting the air, water, and land of America without stifling the economy." Donald Trump: America will soon be stronger and wealthier than ever. Rubio's first step: preventing mass immigration and securing America's borders. Annual deaths of 50,000 citizens due to air pollution in Iran. Temporary halt of some U.S. government support programs to reassess priorities.