"WASHINGTON — Acting Environmental Protection Agency chief Andrew Wheeler’s past lobbying work for coal companies and other industries regulated by the agency is expected to draw scrutiny Wednesday when a Senate committee considers his nomination to the position.

Wheeler’s roughly six-month tenure as the agency’s acting administrator has been far more low-key than that of the man he replaced, Scott Pruitt. Pruitt’s fondness for the perks of power and for alleged favors — from round-the-clock bodyguards to lavish travel to special deals on mattresses from the Trump International Hotel — generated constant headlines and helped lead to Pruitt’s resignation as the agency’s administrator in July.

In line with Trump’s regulation-cutting ethos, the agency under Wheeler has moved forward on major rollbacks and pending rollbacks of Obama-era environmental measures: easing the mileage standards that cars and trucks will have to meet, relaxing measures on climate-changing carbon emissions from coal-fired power plants and removing millions of miles of wetlands and waterways from federal protections, among other changes."

Ellen Knickmeyer reports for the Associated Press January 16, 2019. [2]

SEE ALSO:

"Watchdog Files Ethics Complaint Against EPA Head" (The Hill) [3]

"Climate Clash: Trump Epa Pick Wheeler To Face Democrats Angry At Rollback Of Environmental Rules" (USA TODAY) [4]

"Andrew Wheeler Returns To The Senate For EPA Administrator Confirmation Hearing" (CNN) [5]

"EPA Nominee Andrew Wheeler’s Confirmation Hearing" (PBS News Hour) [6]

Editorial: "EPA Nominee Showcases How Trump Keeps Failing To Drain The Swamp" (USA TODAY) [7]

"Shutdown Looms Over Wheeler’s Senate Test for EPA Top Slot" (Bloomberg Environment) [8]