EPA PICK VOWS TO ADVANCE A DEREGULATORY AGENDA

Andrew Wheeler, a former fossil fuel industry lobbyist whom President Donald Trump nominated earlier this month to lead the Environmental Protection Agency, told a key Senate panel Wednesday he would continue the administration’s reversal of environmental rules even as Democrats asked him why he wasn’t doing more to curb greenhouse gas emissions linked to climate change.

Who is he?

Wheeler, who was confirmed as the agency’s top deputy last year, has served as the EPA’s acting administrator since July. An agency veteran who also worked in the Senate before becoming a lobbyist, Wheeler is more low-key than his predecessor Scott Pruitt, who was forced to resign in July amid federal ethics inquiries.

What happened

Wheeler has made clear — both through his words and actions — he would pursue many of the regulatory rollbacks Pruitt put in motion and carry out Trump’s promises of a more efficient, less powerful EPA. Wheeler highlighted nearly three dozen significant rules the EPA had rolled back during the past two years in his prepared testimony.

“Through our deregulatory actions, the Trump administration has proven that burdensome federal regulations are not necessary to drive environmental progress,” Wheeler told the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee at his confirmation hearing. “Certainty, and the innovation that thrives in a climate of certainty, are key to progress.”

For the most part, Republicans asked questions about pending policies that affected economic sectors such as refiners and farmers.

Democrats sought to pin down Wheeler on questions ranging from his views on climate change to his past lobbying work.

What’s next

Democrats have little hope of blocking Wheeler’s confirmation.

Wheeler’s hearing comes amid a partial government shutdown that has limited the EPA’s ability to conduct its most basic functions, including industrial inspections and monitoring for pollution nationwide and many key policies will be delayed as a result of the budget stalemate.

CHIP SOMODEVILLA / GETTY IMAGES Andrew Wheeler answers questions Wednesday during his confirmation hearing to be the next administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.