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

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

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

The former New York congressman acknowledged the dangers of a shifting climate and vowed to follow the law — but demurred on questions about the president-elect’s views on climate change.

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)

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.

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.

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

Former Rep. Lee Zeldin, who is President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Environmental Protection Agency, told senators Thursday that climate change is real but that other nations are not doing enough to cut their carbon emissions.

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 ...

Even in death, former President Jimmy Carter added to his legacy of public service. His example fortified us for the challenge of standing up for climate action in the face of Trump’s swift moves to withdraw the U.S. from the Paris Agreement, again.