The man poised to take the reins at the Environmental Protection Agency if Scott Pruitt falls to scandal is a longtime Washington insider and coal lobbyist who would pursue the same anti-regulation agenda — only without all of Pruitt's baggage.
Andrew Wheeler,
sworn in as EPA's deputy administrator in late April after a six-month confirmation battle, has spent decades in what President Donald Trump calls "the swamp," first as a top aide to Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) at the Environment and Public Works Committee, then as an energy lobbyist for clients such as the politically active coal company Murray Energy.
In contrast to Pruitt, an Oklahoma conservative who has alienated even some fellow Trump-supporting Republicans , Wheeler is a smooth insider with a penchant for policy details and a reputation for working well with both friends and adversaries. But those who have dealt with him say he's on board with the broad deregulatory agenda that Pruitt and Trump are pursuing.
