President-elect Donald Trump's pick to head the Environmental Protection Agency drew attention at his confirmation hearing this week by acknowledging climate change is real, despite Trump's repeated assertions to the contrary. But in another standout moment, he badly flubbed what was supposed to be a softball question on whether a key greenhouse gas was legally a pollutant, The Daily Beast reported.
“First, as a matter of law, is carbon dioxide a pollutant?” Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) asked Former Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-NY).
Zeldin tried to reply with a joke, saying, “As far as carbon dioxide emitted from you during that question, I would say no.” After receiving no laughs, he continued, “As far as carbon dioxide that is emitted in larger masses, that we hear concern about from scientists, as well as from Congress, that’s something that certainly needs to be focused on for the EPA.”
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“As a matter of law, it is a designated pollutant, correct?” Whitehouse continued.
“Senator, while carbon dioxide is not named as one of the six in the Clean Air Act, the EPA has been treating it as such,” replied Zeldin.
Whitehouse corrected him, noting that the Supreme Court deemed carbon dioxide a pollutant in 2007.
Zeldin, who ran unsuccessfully for governor of New York in 2022, seeks the EPA leadership position as Trump vows to shut down broad parts of outgoing President Joe Biden's climate policy, including pursuing a repeal of the subsidies for climate projects.
He also may seek to withdraw from the Paris climate agreement once again, which he very briefly implemented in his first term, and rescind states' ability to regulate tailpipe emissions above and beyond federal rules, a policy he has claimed is an "electric vehicle mandate."
Watch the clip below or at this link.
Sen. Whitehouse asks Lee Zeldin, Trump's nominee for EPA administrator, several questions about climate change.
Whitehouse: Is the U.S. on a "pathway to climate safety" or do we need to do more?
Zeldin, in part: "I would say that we will have never done enough to ensure that… pic.twitter.com/tuW6pDWAdG
— PBS News (@NewsHour) January 16, 2025