EPA nominee Lee Zeldin pledges to protect environment 'without suffocating the economy'

Environmental Protection Agency Administrator-designate Lee Zeldin pledged during his Senate confirmation hearing Thursday to roll back federal directives while still guarding “human health and the environment.” In his opening statement to the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, Zeldin, 44, warned that red tape was “suffocating the economy” and promised that if confirmed, he would engage with members of both parties as well as the private sector to preserve clean air and water “We must do everything in our power to harness the greatness of American innovation with the greatness of American conservation and environmental stewardship,” Zeldin said. “We must ensure we are protecting our environment, while also protecting our economy.”