Senate EPW hearing reviews EPA nominees’ promises on cooperative federalism, air policy and climate

Senator Shelley Moore Capito, chairwoman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, opened the hearing by saying the committee would “receive testimony from David Fatui, the nominee to serve as the Environmental Protection Agency's deputy administrator, and from Aaron Zabo to serve as the EPA Assistant Administrator for Air and, Radiation.”

David Fatouhi, President Trump’s nominee for EPA deputy administrator, told the committee he “pledge[s] to work every day for the American people to advance the mission of EPA to protect human health and the environment and to support Administrator Zeldin.” He described his background in both private environmental practice and prior EPA service, and cited reductions in traditional air pollutants as evidence of U.S. progress while saying the agency must follow statutory authority.

Aaron Szabo, nominee for assistant administrator for the Office of Air and Radiation, said he was honored to be considered and described his personal connection to air quality as someone living with a chronic lung condition: “Because of my lung disease, I have always been acutely aware of air quality.” Szabo summarized his federal and private-sector experience and said the Clean Air Act’s cooperative-federalism framework should guide EPA–state relations.

Why it mattered: Senators used the hearing to press nominees on several themes that affect how the agency would set and implement policy if confirmed — the role of…