On Monday, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin verbally dismantled purple-haired leftist Connecticut Congresswoman Rose DeLauro during a House Appropriations hearing.
Zeldin used a trio of Supreme Court precedents to leave his opponent gasping for air.
The most telling part of the exchange was the following:
DeLauro: When climate change is flooding our streets, poisoning our air, driving up health care and disaster costs, how can the EPA justify abandoning that duty to protect Americans, to appease polluters under the false flag of economic growth?
Zeldin: Following the law. Section 202 of the Clean Air Act. Where does this say anything about fighting global climate change? Loper Bright, Supreme Court case. You familiar with it?
DeLauro: No, maybe others are, but not, but let me ask.
Zeldin: 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. If Section 202 of the Clean Air Act doesn’t…
DeLauro: 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.
Zeldin: I understand you’re upset that you don’t know what Loper Bright is. Do you know what the major policies doctrine is?
DeLauro: I’m upset because —
Zeldin: Do you know what the major policies doctrine is? You’re a member of Congress. You should know.
DeLauro: You have moved from someone who defended the environment to all of a sudden…
Zeldin: You’re being very defensive about not knowing the two biggest landmark Supreme Court cases of the last year with regard to the question.
DeLauro: You are very defensive about changing your policy and your positions with regard to the environment.
Zeldin: You want me to tell you what the two biggest Supreme Court cases are of the last few years?
He noted the two cases underlying his perspective: “Michigan versus EPA. West Virginia versus EPA.”
DeLauro: You’re here because you need money from us, so halt for a second and wait for the questions and answer the questions.
Zeldin: Well, I answered your question.
DeLauro: No, you didn’t.
Zeldin: And you didn’t like my answer because you don’t know what Loper Bright is. Because you don’t know what the Major Policies doctrine is. Because you’re asking me about Section 202 of the Clean Air Act, and you don’t read it. You don’t know what it says.
DeLauro: Listen, and what you want to do is to deny —
Zeldin: No, I actually read the law. I do my homework.
DeLauro: Really?
Zeldin: You’re just somebody who likes to have the microphone on. You know what I have to do? I read the law. I read the Supreme Court cases.
DeLauro: I don’t have to listen to this.
Zeldin: No, what you should do for your constituents is actually read statute.
DeLauro: The budget is at real risk.
Zeldin: Read your Supreme Court.
DeLauro: This is the Appropriations Committee.
Zeldin: You care about science, now you’re threatening to defund it?
DeLauro: Oh, my God. No, you don’t fund science.
Zeldin: Because you don’t know what Loper Bright is. Because you don’t know what the Major Policies doctrine is. Your message to our folks at the EPA is that you wanted to defund us.
DeLauro: I don’t have to listen to this BS.
Zeldin: BS? You think I made up these cases?
DeLauro: Yeah, I think you have made up a whole lot of pieces.
Zeldin: I made up Loper Bright? I made up West Virginia versus EPA? I made up Michigan versus EPA?
Nothing infuriates an uninformed Congressional Dem more than when they realize they voluntarily triggered a debate with someone who actually knows what they are talking about, reads federal statute and adheres to Supreme Court precedent. Today’s self-implosion by @rosadelauro was… pic.twitter.com/6HTgVjQCiE
— Lee Zeldin (@epaleezeldin) April 27, 2026
Michigan v. EPA (2015) ruled that the EPA acted “unreasonably” by failing to consider costs before regulating power plant emissions. It established that “appropriate and necessary” regulations must account for the financial burden on the private sector.
West Virginia v. EPA (2022) stripped the EPA of the power to mandate industry-wide shifts between fuel types (like coal to solar). It created a “speed bump” requiring Congress to provide specific, clear authorization for any rule with massive economic or political impact.
Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo (2024) overruled the “Chevron deference” doctrine. It shifted power from the Executive to the Judiciary, stating that judges must use their own “independent judgment” to determine the meaning of laws rather than deferring to an agency’s interpretation.
At one point, Zeldin told DeLauro that people should not drink or inject glyphosate, the active ingredient in pesticides such as Roundup. She responded nastily, “Maybe you should try doing that.”
