The U.S. Senate voted to confirm Lee Zeldin as administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency on Jan. 29, 2025. The Senate voted 56-42 in favor of his nomination with three Democrats and all 53 Republicans voting in favor. This was the seventh member of President Donald Trump’s (R) Cabinet confirmed in his second presidential term.
Trump announced on Nov. 11, 2024, that he had selected Zeldin as his nominee for administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. Trump said of Zeldin’s nomination, Lee, with a very strong legal background, has been a true fighter for America First policies. He will ensure fair and swift deregulatory decisions that will be enacted in a way to unleash the power of American businesses, while at the same time maintaining the highest environmental standards, including the cleanest air and water on the planet.” The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee held a confirmation hearing for Zeldin on January 16, 2025, and voted 11-8 to advance his nomination.
His professional experience includes practicing law at Raiser and Kenniff. At the time of his service in congress, Zeldin was a Major in the U.S. Army Reserve. Upon graduating from law school, he received a commission in the Army ROTC as a second lieutenant serving with the Military Intelligence Corps. In 2004, he transitioned to the Judge Advocate General’s Corps working as a Federal Prosecutor in the 82nd Airborne Division. In 2006, he was deployed with a paratrooper division to Iraq as a part of Operation Iraqi Freedom. After he returned, he ran for U.S. Congress in 2008 unsuccessfully. He then established a private law practice in New York. He was later elected to the New York State Senate in 2010, representing District 3 until January 1, 2015. Zeldin ran for election to represent New York’s 1st Congressional District in the U.S. House in 2014. He won, and was re-elected three times.
A presidential Cabinet is a group of senior federal officials who advise the president on the issues and activities of their respective agencies. The number of officials in a Cabinet can vary across presidential administrations. While not explicitly identified in the Constitution, the Cabinet secretaries are the 15 agency heads who are in the presidential line of succession. The vice president is also part of the Cabinet.
During Trump’s second term, the following offices are also Cabinet-rank positions: White House chief of staff, the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, the director of the Office of Management and Budget, the U.S. trade representative, the director of the Central Intelligence Agency, the director of National Intelligence, the administrator of the Small Business Administration, and the ambassador to the United Nations.
Additional reading: Confirmation process for Donald Trump’s Cabinet nominees, 2025