Lee Zeldin Infuriates Purple-Haired Democrat While He Schools Her On Basic Supreme Court Cases

Environmental Protection Agency administrator Lee Zeldin fired back at Democratic Connecticut Rep. Rosa DeLauro on Monday while she tried to lecture him on climate change.

During a House Appropriations Committee hearing, DeLauro accused the EPA of “abandoning” its duty to protect Americans from climate change — which she alleged was “flooding our streets, poisoning our air”— though Zeldin challenged the premise that the agency is responsible for fighting global climate warming. When Zeldin challenged DeLauro to explain the significance of a major Supreme Court case and the major policies doctrine, she refused.

“Following the law, section 202 of the Clean Air Act, where does it say anything about fighting global climate change?” Zeldin asked. “Loper Bright , Supreme Court case, you’re familiar with it? … But that’s really important. As a member of Congress, Loper Bright says that we as an agency don’t have the authority to get creative.”

“No, but you don’t have, excuse me, you do not have the right to say climate change does not exist, that it’s a hoax,and that’s where this administration is coming from,” DeLauro said.

“Do you know what Loper Bright is? Do you know what the major policies doctrine is? You know what the major policies doctrine is? You’re a member of Congress, you should know,” Zeldin said.

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Loper Bright, a landmark 2024 Supreme Court ruling, significantly limited the power of federal agencies to interpret their own regulatory authority and eliminated a requirement that courts defer to agencies’ interpretations of laws. The major policies doctrine restricts agencies from acting on major policy issues without authorization from Congress.