Former Long Island congressman Lee Zeldin will face tough questions from Democrats about his fitness to be the EPA administrator at a Senate hearing Thursday, but he appears to be on a path to confirmation.

WASHINGTON -- Former Long Island congressman Lee Zeldin denied that he will favor industry over the environment and declared he thinks climate change is real as he faced questions Thursday on his nomination to be the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.

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)

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

WASHINGTON — Former Long Island congressman Lee Zeldin moved a step closer to confirmation as the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency after a Senate committee voted Thursday to recommend that the full Senate approve his nomination.

Lee Zeldin, the former New York congressman tapped by President ... Zeldin served as a Republican congressman from New York and represented parts of Long Island between 2015 and 2023. He left his seat to run for the New York governor's office in 2022 ...

Former LI congressman Lee Zeldin said he will not favor industry over the environment and declared that "climate change is real" at a Senate hearing Thursday on his nomination. NewsdayTV's Ken Buffa reports.

I believe that climate change is real,” Zeldin said, adding that he would work to “ensure we are protecting our environment, while also protecting our economy.”

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

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

President Donald Trump withdrew a Biden administration plan to set new limits on chemical discharge into drinking water, worrying some Long Island leaders.

Zeldin has little experience heading an agency. Former U.S. Rep. Lee Zeldin, a Long Island Republican and President-elect Donald J. Trump's pick to head the Environmental Protection Agency ...