President Donald Trump's nominee to head the US Environmental Protection Agency was confirmed by the Senate on Wednesday, drawing cheers from the fossil fuel industry and sparking alarm among green groups.
Lee Zeldin, a former US congressman from New York, has committed to Trump's campaign pledges of boosting US energy dominance and rolling back environmental regulations enacted under former president Joe Biden.
The 44-year-old's nomination was confirmed by a 56-42 vote, with Democrats John Fetterman of Pennsylvania as well as Ruben Gallego and Mark Kelly of Arizona crossing the aisle to vote with their Republican colleagues.
ALSO READ: Top GOPer's ‘most immediate’ priority for new committee includes probing a MAGA conspiracy
Senators Cory Booker of New Jersey and Jon Ossoff of Georgia did not vote.
"Administrator Lee Zeldin has a proven track record of finding solutions to the nation's most pressing energy challenges," said American Petroleum Institute president and CEO Mike Sommers.
"We look forward to working with him to advance American energy leadership, from developing smart, effective regulations to ensuring consumers -- not the government -- can choose the vehicles they drive."
Faced with hostile Democratic questioning during his confirmation hearing, Zeldin acknowledged human-caused climate change is real, in contrast with Trump, who has derided it as a hoax.
But he repeatedly emphasized his commitment to "clean air" and "clean water," echoing rhetoric commonly used by conservatives who champion fossil fuels while resisting efforts to combat the worsening climate crisis, which is disrupting ecosystems and intensifying extreme weather events.
"With today's vote, Senate Republicans have installed yet another Trump loyalist to advance his agenda of environmental destruction," said Evergreen Action's Executive Director Lena Moffitt.
"Despite Lee Zeldin's repeated assurances to 'fully' follow the law, his blind loyalty to President Trump in the face of illegal, destructive executive actions makes it clear that his EPA will put polluters over people."
Brett Hartl, government affairs director at the Center for Biological Diversity, warned that Zeldin's leadership should be scrutinized closely.
"Let's be clear-eyed that every other person Trump has already deployed to the EPA's pesticide, water and air divisions has a long track record of putting industry profits and polluters above our health and the environment," he said.
Zeldin's confirmation comes amid sweeping moves by Trump to reshape US environmental policy.
On his very first day in office, Trump announced he was removing the United States from the Paris climate accord for a second time, declared a "national energy emergency" to expand drilling, and signed executive orders to slow the transition to electric vehicles and halt offshore windshore farms.