Senate committee advances Wheeler’s EPA nomination

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.