"The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has hired two officials nominated for senior positions to work at the agency before the Senate has had a chance to vote on them.

Peter Wright and Chad McIntosh both started work Monday as “special counsels” to acting EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler, according to an EPA staff-wide email that Wheeler’s chief of staff Ryan Jackson sent Friday. The email was obtained by The Hill.

The hirings come as both Wright and McIntosh have nominations pending before the Senate to lead the Office of Land and Emergency Management and the Office of International and Tribal Affairs, respectively, a fact that the top Senate Democrat overseeing the EPA says is concerning and an attempt to avoid the confirmation process."

Timothy Cama reports for The Hill July 9, 2018. [2]