Zeldin clashes with senators on EPA’s budget plan

By Kevin Bogardus | 05/13/2026 01:17 PM EDT

The administrator appeared on Capitol Hill on Wednesday for what may be his last budget hearing of the cycle.

Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin testifies before the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior, Environment and Related Agencies on Capitol Hill on May 13, 2026.

EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin testifies Wednesday before the Senate Interior-Environment Appropriations Subcommittee on Capitol Hill. On the witness table, a binder is labeled "HOT TOPICS." Francis Chung/POLITICO

EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin was back Wednesday on Capitol Hill as he defended the Trump administration’s push to downsize his agency.

Zeldin appeared before the Senate Appropriations subcommittee that oversees EPA to discuss President Donald Trump’s fiscal blueprint to slash the agency’s funding down to $4.2 billion in fiscal 2027, or more than half of its enacted annual budget. Democrats panned the proposal while some Republicans expressed skepticism as well.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), chair of the subcommittee, said she appreciated Zeldin’s approach to rulemaking but questioned budget cuts slated for EPA.

“Like I said last year, there’s good and bad within it,” Murkowski said in her opening statement.

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