EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin and Rep. Rosa DeLauro clashed sharply during a congressional budget hearing Monday, with the exchange quickly turning personal and chaotic.
DeLauro, a senior Democrat from Connecticut, criticized Zeldin’s proposed budget, saying it read like something written by a climate change denier.
She pressed him to explain what she saw as a retreat from the EPA’s responsibility to address climate risks and protect public health.
Zeldin pushed back, framing his approach as a matter of sticking to the law. He pointed to Section 202 of the Clean Air Act and questioned where, specifically, it directs the agency to tackle global climate change in the way DeLauro suggested. From there, the conversation shifted into a back-and-forth over legal interpretations and recent Supreme Court decisions.
At one point, Zeldin asked DeLauro whether she was familiar with the Loper Bright case. She said she wasn’t, but argued that his position reflected a broader denial of climate science.