Coal lobbyist to be nominated for EPA deputy chief
The prominent coal-industry lobbyist Andrew Wheeler, a former Senate staff member, "is likely to be tapped as the No. 2 official at the Environmental Protection Agency," says Axios, citing two people familiar with the decision-making process. "The expected appointment for deputy EPA administrator is a turnaround from last month when the White House was poised to tap Jeff Holmstead, a former top EPA official under President George W. Bush," and a more moderate choice than Wheeler.
Pruitt surrounds himself with climate-change deniers
EPA chief Scott Pruitt, who gives little credence to man-made climate change, is packing his agency with other climate skeptics, says The New York Times. “Mr. Pruitt has drawn heavily from the staff of his friend and fellow Oklahoma Republican, Senator James Inhofe, long known as Congress’s most prominent skeptic of climate science,” says the Times.