EPA chief under scrutiny after ‘liking’ racist post

WASHINGTON — EPA Acting Administrator Andrew Wheeler has used his private social media accounts to interact with incendiary content online, including “liking” a racist image of former President Barack Obama and posts from conservative provocateurs.

Wheeler’s social media activity — going back years — stands in sharp contrast to his public profile as a politically savvy, humble Washington lawyer capable of avoiding the missteps that led to the ouster of Scott Pruitt, his predecessor at the Environmental Protection Agency.

In one case, Wheeler used his personal Facebook account to “like” an image of Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama, depicting them as ogling a banana.

“It doesn’t take an expert in far-right extremism to identify that as a blatantly racist image,” Keegan Hankes, a senior research analyst with the Southern Poverty Law Center, said in an interview. “It’s just ridiculous for an official of this standing to be interacting with this content, let along publicly.”

Wheeler’s posts are part of his private Twitter and Facebook accounts, which he has maintained since taking over the top job at the EPA. As of Tuesday afternoon, the social media posts and activity were still visible.

The social media activity was previously reported by HuffPost, which credited the Democratic political action committee American Bridge 21st Century for first uncovering them.