Andrew Wheeler’s nomination for Deputy Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the number two position at the agency, passed out of the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee by an 11-10 party line vote on Feb. 7.
The EPW Committee vote was facilitated by the White House’s withdrawal of Kathleen Hartnett White’s nomination to lead the Council on Environmental Quality. Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.), the committee’s ranking member, had previously stated that it would be difficult to quickly advance EPA nominees as long as Hartnett White’s nomination remained active.
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Wheeler previously served on former EPW Chairman Jim Inhofe’s staff as the committee’s chief counsel and Republican staff director. He also worked in EPA’s Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics from 1991 to 1995. Most recently, he was a principal at FaegreBD Consulting, where he represented the Nuclear Institute, Xcel Energy and Murray Energy, the largest privately-owned coal company in the U.S.
Wheeler’s nomination will now go before the full Senate for consideration.
