Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) acting administrator Andrew Wheeler has not finished a day as head of the agency before getting attacked for his stance on climate change and history as a coal lobbyist.
Former EPA head Scott Pruitt resigned Thursday and President Donald Trump installed Wheeler as the EPA’s acting administrator for the interim. Trump announced the news on Twitter. (RELATED: Scott Pruitt Resigns; Trump: ‘Scott Has Done An Outstanding Job’)
I have accepted the resignation of Scott Pruitt as the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. Within the Agency Scott has done an outstanding job, and I will always be thankful to him for this. The Senate confirmed Deputy at EPA, Andrew Wheeler, will…
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 5, 2018
…on Monday assume duties as the acting Administrator of the EPA. I have no doubt that Andy will continue on with our great and lasting EPA agenda. We have made tremendous progress and the future of the EPA is very bright!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 5, 2018
The preliminary attacks have come chiefly from environmental organizations, liberal news outlets and journalists. The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) tweeted a blog post written after the Senate confirmed Wheeler in April on why Americans should be “afraid of him.”
“Make no mistake: we’ll fight Wheeler’s pollution agenda with the same vigor as we did Pruitt’s,” NRDC tweeted.
Mary Ann Hitt, director of the Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal campaign, celebrated Pruitt’s resignation while reminding Wheeler that the environmental group has “our eye on him.”
Y’ALL WE BOOTED PRUITT! That small-time grifter is headed back to OK in a cloud of smog and coal ash thanks to Y’ALL who refused to let him pollute our country & our democracy! #Coal lobbyist Andrew Wheeler is next in line at EPA and you’d better believe we’ve got our eye on him.
— Mary Anne Hitt (@maryannehitt) July 5, 2018
Journalists from liberal-leaning news outlets tweeted out other stories and warnings of Wheeler’s embrace of Trump’s deregulatory agenda.
The new EPA administrator has a long career lobbying on behalf of coal and natural gas companies. He’ll be in charge of regulating all these sectors now https://t.co/sY5riHxE7D pic.twitter.com/tVO6K1pTr3
— Rebecca Leber (@rebleber) July 5, 2018
Scott Pruitt’s replacement, Andrew Wheeler, is a coal lobbyist and climate denier who could prove even more effect at crippling the EPA.
He was confirmed with the help of 3 Democrats:https://t.co/i9EzWbGxRd
He “bullied” opponents in the Senate https://t.co/P4EkCY8yyi
— Alexander Kaufman (@AlexCKaufman) July 5, 2018
Lawmakers spoke against Wheeler as well, tempering celebrations about Pruitt’s resignation with warnings about his replacement.
It should be remembered that Scott Pruitt’s replacement to lead the Environmental Protection Agency is a former coal industry lobbyist. With Florida particularly vulnerable to flooding and extreme weather from climate change, the fight for a greener, cleaner future must continue.
— Rep. Val Demings (@RepValDemings) July 5, 2018
Andrew Wheeler is a carbon copy of #ScottPruitt and his polluting policies. #EnoughIsEnough
— Raul M. Grijalva (@RepRaulGrijalva) July 5, 2018
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