Trump’s EPA Pick Flunks Science Quiz in Confirmation Hearing

Lee Zeldin, Donald Trump’s nominee to head the Environmental Protection Agency, struggled to answer simple questions about science during his confirmation hearing Thursday.

During his hearing before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, ranking member Senator Sheldon Whitehouse said he intended to deliver on a promise to Zeldin to ask “really basic no-tricks questions about climate change,” and Zeldin could barely answer a single one.

“First, as a matter of law, is carbon dioxide a pollutant?” Whitehouse asked.

“As far as carbon dioxide ‘emitted’ from you during that question, I would say no,” Zeldin joked. “As far as carbon dioxide that is emitted in larger masses, that we hear concern about from scientists, as well as from Congress, that’s something that certainly needs to be focused on for the EPA.”

“And as a matter of law, it is a designated pollutant, correct?” Whitehouse pressed.

“Senator, while carbon dioxide is not named as one of the six in the Clean Air Act, the EPA has been treating it as such,” Zeldin replied. Whitehouse affirmed that the Supreme Court had determined that it is a pollutant and ought to be regulated by the EPA. Zeldin appeared to treat that standard, which has been in place since 2007, with the skepticism of a technicality.

But Whitehouse was far from done administering his pop quiz. “What effect—briefly and in layman terms, I know you’re not a scientific expert—what effect are carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuel combustion having in the atmosphere?” he asked.

“Senator, while I am someone who believes strongly that we should work with the scientists, leaving science to the scientist, the policy to the policymakers, and that we all work together,” Zeldin replied.

Moments earlier, however, Zeldin had promised to “honor” the Supreme Court’s Loper Bright decision, which entails basically the exact opposite by upending a 40-year-old doctrine that required judges to defer to a federal agency (stocked with experts) when determining the meaning of any ambiguous laws that agency should try to enforce.

“I don’t sit before you as a scientist,” Zeldin continued. “Fortunately, at EPA we do have many talented scientists who provide that research. They have that talent to be able to tell us exactly what the metrics are of their research—”

“Just generally, and in layman’s terms, what effects do these carbon dioxide emissions have when they enter the atmosphere?” Whitehouse pressed, his head resting on his hand.

“Trapping—uh trapping heat, senator,” Zeldin said awkwardly.

The ranking member then asked the same question, this time about “methane leakage from fossil fuel production and transport,” to which Zeldin brilliantly replied, “Same.”

“What effect are carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuel combustion having in the oceans?”

“Well the emissions of greenhouse gases trap, trap heat, Senator,” Zeldin repeated, also offering that “rising sea levels are concerns where I’m from, as well.”

Whitehouse asked if it was correct that the trapped heat is “heating up the oceans.”

“That is what the scientists tell me, Senator,” Zeldin remarked. Always a good sign when someone is bothering to differentiate between what scientists tell you and what is “correct.”

“Have we hit the 1.5 degree risk threshold, and why is that important?” Whitehouse said.

Zeldin said that he would have to “defer to the talented scientists to be able to provide that advice on an ongoing basis.” (The Earth passed that threshold for the first time last year, a dangerous breach climate experts have been warning about for some time.)

Finally, Whitehouse asked Zeldin what he considered to be key climate or oceans “tipping points” that concerned him. Zeldin couldn’t name one, but said that there was concern about rising sea levels from both sides of the aisle, and its potential impact was evident on maps of places all across the country. How comforting.

In his opening statements, Whitehouse had flagged his concerns that Trump intends to pour millions into the pockets of billionaire fossil fuel barons, and that he hoped Zeldin would demonstrate an ability to “follow the science” and economics, as opposed to act as a “rubber stamp for looters and polluters.”

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has appointed the state’s Attorney General Ashley Moody to fill the Senate seat vacated by Donald Trump’s nomination of Marco Rubio as secretary of state.

The move, reported Thursday by Axios, may be a snub of Trump’s daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, who has publicly sought the Senate seat and had the backing of several MAGA politicians, including Senator Katie Britt and Representative Anna Paulina Luna. Lara Trump resigned last month from her position as co-chair of the Republican National Committee, fueling speculation that she would be appointed to the Senate seat.

But DeSantis has gone in another direction, albeit with a person who supports the president-elect. Moody endorsed Trump for president and has accused President Biden of “aiding and abetting” an immigrant “invasion.” Still, Moody’s appointment could potentially cause conflict between DeSantis and the president-elect.

Citing an unnamed source, the report states that DeSantis plans to appoint his chief of staff, James Uthmeier, to replace Moody as Florida attorney general.

Trump and DeSantis played golf together on Tuesday, presumably discussing many subjects, but the president-elect hasn’t said anything about the state’s Senate vacancy. The Florida governor fully supports Trump, including his plans for the mass deportation of undocumented immigrants. DeSantis has promised to boost funding to local governments and called for a special legislative session to assist the new administration’s immigration crackdown.

Lara Trump also had the support of tech oligarch Elon Musk, who called her “genuinely great” in an X post last month. Musk spent more than $250 million to elect Trump and may not be happy with DeSantis’s choice. It remains to be seen how MAGA, and the president-elect, will react to this appointment, or if DeSantis cleared it with Trump first.

This story has been updated.

Trump shared a “Do not hire” list for his incoming administration with some very familiar names on it—and some curious ones.

“As of today, the incoming Trump Administration has hired over 1,000 people for The United States Government. They are outstanding in every way, and you will see the fruits of their labor over the coming years. We will MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN, and it will happen very quickly!” the president-elect wrote on Truth Social Wednesday evening.

“In order to save time, money, and effort, it would be helpful if you would not send, or recommend to us, people who worked with, or are endorsed by, Americans for No Prosperity (headed by Charles Koch), ‘Dumb as a Rock’ John Bolton, ‘Birdbrain’ Nikki Haley, Mike Pence, disloyal Warmongers Dick Cheney, and his Psycho daughter, Liz, Mitt Romney, Paul Ryan, General(?) Mark Milley, James Mattis, Mark Yesper, or any of the other people suffering from Trump Derangement Syndrome, more commonly known as TDS. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”

While it’s no surprise that Trump wants nothing to do with ex-allies like John Bolton or vocal critics like Liz Cheney, it’s strange that he’s also going after current allies like Nikki Haley or the Koch-backed Americans for Prosperity, which backs some of Trump’s worst policies.

This statement, like so many others in the past, shows that Trump still feels he has grudges and scores to settle and that he will use his office to do so. Announcing that he doesn’t want to hire anyone connected to mainline conservatives is an obvious political statement, but there may also be no rhyme or reason to who’s added to the list next.

Just hours after a ceasefire between Israeli and Hamas was seemingly agreed to, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is suddenly trying to change its terms.

The agreement stipulates that the Israel military withdraw from the Philadelphi corridor, a narrow strip of land between Gaza and Egypt, and that Israel cease hostilities. In a statement Thursday morning, however, Netanyahu’s office said Israel would not be withdrawing from the Philadelphi corridor and would continue to “achieve the war’s objectives,” which means either Hamas disbands itself or Israel continues the war to destroy the group.

These were major sticking points for a ceasefire deal, and Netanyahu’s insistence on these two points threaten to scuttle the agreement and humiliate Donald Trump, who has warned that “all hell will break out” if there is no deal before he is sworn in as president on Monday. Trump is already promising a sort of “gift bag” for Israel when he is president, including lifting sanctions on Israeli settlers and approving more land seizures in the occupied West Bank.

Trump claimed credit for the deal shortly after it was announced Wednesday, even though he isn’t in office yet and the deal is almost identical to one proposed back in May. Previous deals were repeatedly sabotaged by Israeli officials, as Israel National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir boasted on Tuesday.

The timing of the deal, as well as the fact that it is supposed to go into effect on Sunday, the day before Trump’s inauguration, was an obvious gift from Netanyahu to the president-elect. With Netanyahu suddenly trying to alter the deal, will Trump have his usual reaction to bad news and lash out against Netanyahu, or is the Israeli leader the rare person who gets a pass?

A live hot mic moment made it on air on Fox News Wednesday evening, when a disembodied voice let slip some unsavory language during the introduction of one of the network’s more controversial guests: Charlie Kirk.

The Turning Point USA founder was double-boxed on live air when a loud, unknown voice could be heard speaking over Fox News host Laura Ingraham.

“Joining me now, someone who knows a little bit about this, Charlie Kirk, Turning Point USA founder,” said Ingraham, when a deep voice effectively cut her off with an unexpected cuss: “Oh shit.”

The gaffe quickly made the rounds on social media, with users taking their own spin on the audio issue.

“In fairness this is the sound I make when Charlie Kirk is on my TV,” posted journalist Aaron Rupar.

An anonymous source at Fox News chalked the incident up to a control room issue, claiming that the audio operator accidentally raised the levels on an upcoming guest who dished the expletive while adjusting his clip-on microphone.

“The audio operator accidentally slid the wrong fader which was allotted for a different guest,” the source told Mediaite. “That guest in turn was adjusting his IFB at the time and said ‘oh shit’ which was accidentally transmitted on the air.”

Kirk was under fire last week for partaking in a self-described tourism trip to Greenland with Donald Trump Jr. and Trump administration staffer Sergio Gor. The trio’s presence on the island—and myriad photo ops with local residents—was not taken well by some of Greenland’s politicians, who slammed Don Jr.’s visit as a stunt to make the territory appear open to U.S. governance in the wake of odd jokes and eyebrow-raising militaristic threats about buying Greenland by the president-elect.

Local criticism extended to a series of photos featuring Kirk and Greenlandic residents in MAGA hats that Danish media reported was staged. The MAGA cohort reportedly rounded up homeless people from the area—including one person from under a bridge—promising them a meal at the Hotel Hans Egede in exchange for their participation in the pro-Trump photo circuit.