Who Is Andrew Wheeler? Coal Lobbyist Next EPA Deputy Administrator, Report Says

Andrew Wheeler, a coal lobbyist, is expected to be named deputy administrator for the Environmental Protection Agency, Politico reported Thursday.

Wheeler, a former aide to Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla., worked for the EPA early in his career.

Politico quoted sources as saying the nomination is not yet locked in, and there was no indication when an announcement would be made. Wheeler would need to obtain a waiver to be able to serve at the EPA.

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Wheeler is a registered lobbyist for Murray Energy, which regularly challenged the Obama administration’s environmental regulations in court. He also lobbied for Underwriters Laboratories of Illinois and cheesemaker Sargento. Former clients included Xcel Energy and Bear Head LNG, Politico said.

During the presidential campaign, President Donald Trump pledged to revitalize the coal industry, which said had been decimated by environmental regulations. EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt repeatedly sued the EPA over regulations, saying it should be up to the states to decide what environmental protections are necessary.

Read: Donald Trump Seizes Coal Country Voters On Promise To Revive Hard-Hit Industry

Inhofe, 82, who rejects scientific conclusions on climate change, has put his mark on the administration. At least a half-dozen of his aides have found their way into the Trump administration. Inhofe has called the EPA an “activist organization” that has placed unfair burdens on everyone from farmers to fossil-fuel companies.

Trump’s fiscal 2018 budget, which was unveiled Thursday, slashes the EPA, eliminating 3,200 of its 15,000 workers, cutting funding for climate change research and Superfund cleanup and scraping more than 50 programs.

“Literally and figuratively, this is a scorched earth budget that represents an all out assault on clean air, water, and land,” Gina McCarthy, who served as EPA administrator during the final years of the Obama administration, said in a statement. “You can’t put ‘America First’ when you put the health of its people and its country last.”