Trump EPA, Interior picks face Senate test

Energy & Environment

The Big Story

Trump EPA, Interior picks poised for confirmation

Environment watchers faced a split screen on Thursday as President-elect Trump's picks to lead the Interior Department and Environmental Protection Agency both faced confirmation hearings.

The Burgum hearing:

Burgum sat for a largely cordial hearing before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on Thursday.
Burgum acknowledged during an exchange with Sen. Angus King (I-Maine) that climate change is a “global phenomenon.”
King also asked Burgum to intercede with Trump on the issue of wind power, a frequent Trump target and the possible subject of an early executive order. Burgum responded that he would “certainly be taking a look at all of those and if it makes sense, and they’re already law, they’ll continue.”
The wildfires that have ravaged Southern California loomed large over the hearings. Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) mentioned them in his opening remarks, while Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) asked Burgum whether he would commit to mobilizing the department for disaster aid regardless of where it occurred, to which Burgum responded “absolutely.”

The Zeldin hearing:

Zeldin also appears to be on the path to confirmation, to lead the EPA, where he appears poised to be able to carry out the significant level of climate and environmental deregulation Trump has indicated he plans to pursue.
During the confirmation hearing, Zeldin declined to say whether he believed the EPA had a responsibility to regulate climate change under the law. “It was not a decision of the Supreme Court that if there was a fire in 2025 in California, that if that fire creates a danger to people … then that triggers the EPA to regulate carbon dioxide. There’s just more to that,” Zeldin said.
Zeldin himself said that climate change is real, but also defended Trump’s past comments calling climate change a “hoax.”
Zeldin also said “no one has expressed to me in any setting … of any plans” to move the EPA’s headquarters out of Washington, which The New York Times has reported was under discussion by the transition team.

Read more about Burgum and about Zeldin.

Welcome to The Hill’s Energy & Environment newsletter, we’re Rachel Frazin and Zack Budryk — keeping you up to speed on the policies impacting everything from oil and gas to new supply chains.

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Essential Reads

How policy will affect the energy and environment sectors now and in the future:

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In Other News

Branch out with a different read from The Hill:

Bessent open to increasing sanctions on Russia

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What We're Reading

News we've flagged from other outlets touching on energy issues, the environment and other topics:

A new frontier in the voluntary carbon market: Old, leaky oil wells (Grist)
Florida Manatees Retain Threatened Status Under New Federal Proposal, Despite Outcry for Greater Protection (Inside Climate News)
Hydroelectric Dams on Oregon’s Willamette River Kill Salmon. Congress Says It’s Time to Consider Shutting Them Down. (ProPublica)

What Others are Reading

Two key stories on The Hill right now:

NAACP Legal Defense Fund report finds Trump AG pick Pam Bondi ‘undermined’ voting rights

Pam Bondi, President-elect Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Justice (DOJ), has a history of “undermining” voting rights, according to a report opposing Bondi from the NAACP’s Legal Defense Fund. Read more

Fetterman’s approach to Trump stirs speculation

Sen. John Fetterman’s (D-Pa.) open-minded approach to President-elect Trump is fueling questions about his motives and vexing some of his fellow Democrats. Read more

Opinions in The Hill

Op-ed related to energy & environment submitted to The Hill:

Climate change, not mismanagement, is the primary driver of the California wildfires

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