For a third time this week, US Environmental Protection Agency administrator Lee Zeldin’s appearance at a congressional hearing to discuss the agency’s proposed fiscal year (FY) 2027 budget ended in angry standoffs with lawmakers.
Zeldin appeared before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee (EPW) on Wednesday to discuss the White House’s plan to chop $4.6 billion from the agency’s budget, which would be a 52% reduction from enacted FY 2026 levels. But instead of discussing these proposed cuts, Republicans mainly praised Zeldin’s EPA work so far while Democrats either pleaded for help on specific EPA projects or traded barbs with the EPA head over the agency’s deregulation agenda.
In his opening statement, Zeldin listed the agency’s achievements to date and set up a defense of its environmental rollbacks. “The Supreme Court’s overturning of the Chevron doctrine made it clear that agencies like EPA no longer have the freedom to creatively bend the law to fulfill the demands of unelected bureaucrats,” he said. “This paved the way to our greatest deregulatory achievement yet, the rescission of the 2009 endangerment finding.” The US Supreme Court overturned the Chevron doctrine in July 2024, which means that judges no longer have to defer to regulatory agencies’ reasonable readings of unclear laws. The EPA rescinded the endangerment finding in February, undoing the scientific and legal basis for the agency to regulate greenhouse gas emissions under the Clean Air Act.
Similar to the proceedings at the EPA budget hearing with the House Committee on Appropriations’ Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies subcommittee on Monday and the House Committee on Energy and Commerce hearing on Tuesday, Democrats heavily criticized the agency’s recent actions at the EPW hearing. Many said the EPA is failing in its mission to protect human health and the environment. Edward Markey (D-MA) and EPW ranking member Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) accused the EPA of driving up energy prices to benefit polluters and President Donald J. Trump’s political donors.
In his opening statement, Whitehouse said that the Trump administration’s blockage of wind and solar plants was to blame for high electricity bills in his constituency. “Offshore wind will cost nine cents per kilowatt-hour in our 18-cent-per-kilowatt-hour average-cost grid. Do the math. Nine is less than 18,” he said.
Kevin Cramer (R-ND) later asked Zeldin about these numbers. “Respectfully, Senator Whitehouse’s math is extremely wrong,” Zeldin answered. This remained a sticking point for the EPA head.
“Your attack on clean energy raises costs for consumers, but it sends billions to your fossil fuel polluters, Trump’s big donors,” Whitehouse said. Every day that consumers aren’t able to access wind energy means that their money ends up in gas companies’ pockets, he said. “You will at least concede that nine cents is less than 18 cents, do you not?” Whitehouse asked Zeldin.
“Well, nine cents is less than 18 cents,” Zeldin said. The two began to talk over each other, with Zeldin asking, “Your math is inaccurate, would you like to talk about it?”
Whitehouse then went on to ask about other EPA actions. Zeldin didn’t answer these questions, but instead replied, “I’m still stuck on the fact that all you’re asking is if nine is less than 18.”
Zeldin also got into heated exchanges with Bernie Sanders (D-VT) and Markey. Roger Wicker (R-MS) tried to reduce tensions, with mixed success. “There are people in this room that are so convinced of the accuracy of their point of view that they somehow feel that if you disagree, you’re up to villainy,” he said. “I wish we could get away from that.”
Zeldin responded by saying that past predictions of climate change were looking at the most pessimistic outcome possible, and that some Democrats have made money off of a “climate grift.” “We just want to stick to the truth. We want to stick to the science,” he said.
The hearing ended with EPW chair Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) thanking Zeldin for his “candid and very informative answers.” She said that senators can submit written questions for the record until 5 p.m. on May 13 and that Zeldin has until 5 p.m. on May 27 to reply.
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