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During a contentious congressional budget hearing on Monday, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin took issue with Rep. Rosa DeLauro’s fiery criticism, labeling her as “uninformed.” The exchange came after the Connecticut Democrat made an explosive suggestion that Zeldin drink weed killer, highlighting the tensions between the two.
In her role as the ranking member of the House Appropriations Committee, DeLauro, notable for her distinctive purple hair, fiercely critiqued Zeldin’s budget proposal. She claimed the proposal resembled a “climate change denier’s manifesto” and challenged the EPA chief to explain how the agency could seemingly neglect its responsibility to safeguard Americans from the impacts of climate change.
Zeldin, who previously served as a Republican congressman from New York, stood firm in his response. “I am adhering to the law,” he stated, pointing to Section 202 of the Clean Air Act and questioning where it explicitly mandates efforts to combat global climate change.
Faced with Zeldin’s retort, DeLauro, at 83, found herself momentarily at a loss for words.
DeLauro, 83, remained silent.
“Loper Bright. Supreme Court case. Are you familiar with it?” Zeldin asked.
The flustered congressman admitted she was ignorant of the case but argued Zeldin didn’t have “the right to say climate change does not exist, that it’s a hoax, and that’s where this administration is coming from.”
“I know you’re upset. You don’t know what Loper Bright is. Do you know what the major policies doctrine is?” Zeldin challenged DeLauro, adding, “You’re a member of Congress, you should know.”
DeLauro snapped after Zeldin rattled off a couple more major Supreme Court cases that the Democratic lawmaker appeared unaware of.
“Woah. You know, you’re here because you need money from us,” she screamed, wagging her finger at the Trump administration official. “So halt for this second and wait for the question and answer the question!”
Zeldin insisted that he answered the question and accused the congresswoman of being “somebody who likes the microphone on” but doesn’t actually read federal statutes.
“I don’t have to listen to this BS!” DeLauro raged.
“BS? You think I made up these cases?” Zeldin shot back.
“Yeah, I think you have made up a whole lot,” DeLauro responded.
Later on in the hearing, when things appeared to settle down a bit, DeLauro accused the Trump EPA of not doing enough to go after polluters.
Zeldin opened up his binder and started comparing the Trump administration’s enforcement actions to the Biden administration’s when DeLauro interjected.
“Glyphosate,” she said, referring to the active ingredient in the pesticide Roundup.
Zeldin advised that if the congresswoman’s cup was filled with glyphosate, she should not drink it.
To which DeLauro responded, “Maybe you should try doing that.”
“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,” Zeldin wrote on X after the hearing.
“Today’s self-implosion by [DeLauro] was quite remarkable to witness,” he added.
On DeLauro’s suggestion he drink weed killer, Zeldin reacted: “When you don’t have anything good to say, some advise to just not say anything at all.”
He argued DeLauro “apparently believes that when you don’t have anything good to say, you should instruct the person you are debating to kill themself.”
DeLauro’s office did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment.