EPA chief vows to continue Pruitt agenda
In taking reins, Wheeler says he’ll minimize stress for employees
Andrew Wheeler promises a new era at the EPA, saying he will work to “minimize the stress” in the transition from Scott Pruitt.
WASHINGTON — Acting Administrator Andrew Wheeler promised a new era at Environmental Protection Agency , telling staffers on Wednesday he would work to “minimize the stress” in the transition from his predecessor, Scott Pruitt.
In his first public address since taking over the EPA on Monday — live-streamed online — Wheeler described a policy agenda similar to that of Pruitt while working to assure employees who had tired of the scandals surrounding their former boss.
“I do understand firsthand
the stress that goes with a change in management,” Wheeler said. “I will try to minimize the stress to you as employees.”
Wheeler takes over an agency still reeling from the resignation last week of Pruitt, who had come under come under congressional ethics probes after a series of questionable actions, from renting an apartment from the wife of a prominent lobbyist to enlisting staff to help his wife find a job.
In the end, even Republicans turned against him, worried that Pruitt’s personal dramas were clouding his ability to carry out the rollback of environmental protections that had widely been cheered in industry circles.
That was particularly true in Texas’ oil and gas fields, where industry leaders had widely railed against the Obama administration’s bid to rein in greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuels.
In his speech, Wheeler said he would carry on Pruitt’s push to scale back regulation, which he described as “federal regulatory overreach,” as well as speed up the processing of permits for polluting industries.
“Thanks to the leadership of President Trump and Administrator Pruitt, we have made tremendous progress over the past year and a half,” he said.
Wheeler is a familiar face in Washington, serving in the EPA in the 1990s before moving to Capitol Hill to serve as a top staffer to Sen. James Inhofe, ROkla., the former chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee who is well known for his skepticism of climate change. Then Wheeler spent almost a decade as a lobbyist working for the firm Faegre Baker Daniels, representing, among others, the coal magnate Robert Murray, CEO of Murray Energy and a donor to Trump’s presidential campaign.
On Wednesday, Wheeler presented himself to employees as one of their own, quipping about his earlier decision to leave the EPA for the “job stability” of Congress.
“Just like me, you came to the EPA to help the environment,” he said.
Those who know Wheeler say to expect no change in course from the policy agenda set by Pruitt, but a more by-the-book approach to the business of running the EPA.
“In the substance, I don’t think it changes anything. But I think there will be a big change in style,” Jeff Holmstead, a former high-ranking EPA official during the George W. Bush administration and now an attorney representing fossil fuel companies, said last week, adding that Wheeler “is quieter, more low-key. Part of Pruitt’s challenge is he came here not fully understanding how D.C. works.”
But staying out of the spotlight will not be easy for Wheeler. After declaring victory after Pruitt’s resignation last week, environmentalists promised they would not let up in their fight to block EPA from rolling back environmental regulations, such as those limiting greenhouse gas emissions from power plants and natural gas drilling.
“This veteran coal lobbyist has shown only disdain for the EPA’s vital mission to protect Americans’ health and our environment,” said Ana Unruh Cohen, managing director for government affairs at the Natural Resources Defense Council. “Make no mistake: We’ll fight Wheeler’s pollution agenda with the same vigor as we did Pruitt’s.”