The Senate confirmed Acting Administrator Andrew Wheeler on Thursday to continue leading the Environmental Protection Agency even as notable centrists opposed him, a sign he could face pressure to soften his regulatory rollback agenda.
Still, Wheeler was confirmed 52 to 47, with only the votes of Republicans, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., who said Thursday the EPA leader has “proven his ability to advance pragmatic solutions to pressing environmental challenges.”
Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, a centrist, was the only Republican to oppose Wheeler, because of his inattention to addressing climate change while serving as acting administrator of the agency.
She had voted for Wheeler when he was previously approved by the Senate last year to be the second-highest ranking EPA official before he replaced Scott Pruitt as acting administrator.
Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia, a centrist Senate Democrat, also voted against Wheeler after backing him last year.
Manchin, a fierce defender of his state’s coal industry, said the EPA had gone too far in easing rules on coal.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, voted for Wheeler, but said she is not pleased with everything he’s done. She specifically said that he has not acting strongly enough to regulate a class of chemicals that have contaminated water supplies across the U.S.
Earlier this month, Wheeler, responding to Republican pressure, launched a process for setting a drinking water limit for two toxic chemicals known as perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS.
But Murkowski told the Washington Examiner Thursday that Wheeler’s promise, part of an action plan he announced earlier this month, is “not sufficient at this point in time.”
She encouraged Wheeler to actually follow up and impose a drinking water standard, and said she is joining legislation to be introduced this week to force him to.
Murkowski, the chairwoman of the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, also challenged Wheeler to be “attentive” to reducing carbon emissions, although she did not join Collins in saying he is not doing enough to combat climate change.
“He takes the issue of climate change seriously and recognizes that it is the EPA’s mission to make sure we have clean air and clean water,” Murkowski told the Washington Examiner. “Have there been instances at EPA where I have thought they have not moved fast enough? I am one who has been pushing them on this issue of PFAS. I don’t think they have moved fast enough.”
Wheeler, 54, a former energy lobbyist and Senate Republican staffer, has faithfully implemented President Trump’s deregulatory agenda since replacing former Administrator Scott Pruitt in July. He was previously approved by the Senate last year to be the second-highest ranking EPA official before he replaced Pruitt as acting administrator.
Since he replaced Pruitt, Wheeler has introduced major actions started by his predecessor to delay, weaken, or repeal various regulations on air, water, and climate change.
They include the EPA’s effort to weaken the Obama administration’s two signature climate change regulations: His strict fuel efficiency standards for cars and light trucks, which were set to steadily rise through 2026, and the Clean Power Plan that was set to limit carbon emissions from power plants. Wheeler also proposed, in December, shrinking the Obama administration’s Waters of the United States rule, commonly referred to as WOTUS.
Wheeler will have to finalize these rules over the coming months, after taking into account public comments and the views of lawmakers.
