EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin sparred with Rep. Rose DeLauro during a House Appropriations Committee hearing on Monday over the agency's responsibilities on climate change. DeLauro accused the EPA of abandoning its duty to protect Americans amid rising environmental threats. Zeldin countered by citing federal law and recent Supreme Court precedents limiting agency authority.
In the hearing, Rep. Rose DeLauro, D-Conn., pressed Zeldin on climate change impacts, asking, 'When climate change is flooding our streets, poisoning our air, driving up health care and disaster costs, how can the EPA justify abandoning that duty to protect Americans, to appease polluters under the false flag of economic growth?' Zeldin responded, 'Following the law. Section 202 of the Clean Air Act. Where does this say anything about fighting global climate change?' He referenced the Supreme Court case Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, questioning DeLauro's familiarity with it and the major questions doctrine. DeLauro admitted she was not familiar, prompting Zeldin to explain that agencies lack authority to interpret laws creatively without clear statutory support. The exchange grew tense as Zeldin cited additional cases, Michigan v. EPA from 2015 and West Virginia v. EPA from 2022, which limit EPA rulemaking on emissions and fuel shifts without explicit congressional authorization. DeLauro accused Zeldin of denying climate change's existence, while he urged her to read the relevant statutes and precedents. Zeldin later tweeted about the confrontation on April 27, 2026. Separately, Zeldin remarked that people should not drink or inject glyphosate, the ingredient in pesticides like Roundup, to which DeLauro replied, 'Maybe you should try doing that.'
