Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin
Glenn YoungkinVirginia school district push back against Youngkin’s plans. The Memo: Biden, Democrats feel a new political pain about inflation. Where have you gone Laura Bush? MORE(R) appoints former administrator of Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Andrew Wheeler
Andrew WheelerOvernight Energy & Environment manchin threatens Fed nomination over climate lobbying world Overnight Energy & Environment Virginia legislators block ex-Trump EPA headAfter the Democrats in state Senate rejected his nomination for a cabinet job, he was appointed as a special adviser.
Macaulay Porter was a spokesperson for Youngkins office and confirmed the move to The Hill on Tuesday morning. The position, which doesn’t require confirmation from the General Assembly, will focus on natural resources issues.
Wheeler, who was the head of EPA under the then-current administration,President Trump
Donald TrumpTrump: I will not use campaign funds to purchase a new plane. Do not fuel: How investing in renewables could save the world and neutralize Russia’s modern problems Wife Clarence Thomas confirms that she attended the Jan. 6 Stop the Steal’ rallyYoungkins was the state secretary for natural resources from 2019-2021. The nomination was immediately criticized by environmental groups who have long criticized Wheeler’s history as a coal lobbyist and for the many environmental regulations he rescinded at the EPA.
Democrats, green groups, former EPA employees and others criticized Wheeler’s support for a rule that was created under his predecessor. Scott Pruitt
Edward Scott PruittTrump moved the Bureau of Land Management as part of a familiar Republican strategy Understanding the barriers between scientists and the public and the truth. Overnight Energy & Environment Biden officially returns to pre-Trump national monument boundaries MOREThat ban prohibited the use scientific studies that didn’t make all their data public.
Wheeler has not falsifiedly claimed that human-caused global warming is a hoax. But he has called it exaggerated, and said he doesn’t believe it an existential threat.
After the GOP won the 2021 election, a slim majority of Virginia’s senators remained in favor of Democrats. However, it was not clear whether any would vote for Wheeler after a friendly committee hearing in January. State Sen. Joe Morrissey, a Democratic state senator, suggested Wheeler had done well under questioning and was contemplating backing him.
Wheeler, who was defending his environmental positions, said that the media had misrepresented his conservation history. He was voted out of the chamber by 21-19 on February 8, making him the first cabinet nominee to be rejected by the General Assembly since 2006.
Wheeler, as per the state constitution, remained in this position until this weekend, which marks the end of General Assemblys 2022 session.