Scott Pruitt was the perfect villain: On top of pursuing President Trump’s deregulatory plan for the Environmental Protection Agency, including pulling out from the Paris climate accords, he had a laundry list of ethical and possible legal violations that put him at the heart of at least 13 federal investigations. He was easy to criticize, didn’t seem to know his way around Washington, and constantly found himself in the spotlight for undeniably questionable activity. Moreover, his haste and lack of regulatory know-how led to six of his initiatives being struck down by the courts.

Now Pruitt is out and Andrew Wheeler, his (at least) temporary replacement, will be a more difficult target for the Left, and they will hate him even more.