Trump's EPA administrator-nominee took at-times pointed questions from several liberal Democratic senators during his confirmation hearing Thursday.

Long Island environmentalists offered mixed reviews of Lee Zeldin's answers during his Senate confirmation hearing for EPA administrator.

Former Rep. Lee Zeldin, R-N.Y., President-elect Donald Trump's pick to head the Environmental Protection Agency, appears before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee on Capitol Hill, Thursday, Jan. 16, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

GOP former House member Lee Zeldin, picked to be EPA administrator, pledged strict interpretation of the country's environmental laws.

I believe that climate change is real," Lee Zeldin told senators on the Environment and Public Works Committee. He added that environmental policies should not hamper economic growth.

Mr. Zeldin, a Trump loyalist, would be charged with dismantling climate rules and perhaps the agency itself. He faced questions from the Senate Thursday.

Zeldin will appear Thursday before the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works for his confirmation hearing to be the next administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.

Lee Zeldin, President-elect Donald Trump's nominee to head the Environmental Protection Agency, is promising to preserve a clean environment "without suffocating the economy."

Americans deserve a clean environment “without suffocating the economy,” Lee Zeldin said during his ... Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island, for example, asked about basic climate science ...

President-elect Donald Trump's Cabinet nominees Scott Bessent, Doug Burgum, Lee Zeldin and Scott Turner will sit for Senate confirmation hearings Thursday.

Zeldin said, if confirmed, that he’d foster collaboration and balance in his approach to carrying out the mission of the EPA.

Lee Zeldin said Americans deserve a clean environment ... Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island, for example, asked about basic climate science, including what impact carbon dioxide emissions ...