Overview

Andrew R. Wheeler is a former Administrator of the United States Environmental Protection Agency who served from February 2019 to January 2021; having served as acting administrator since July 2018 following the resignation of Scott Pruitt. Wheeler's appointment was widely criticized as a textbook case of regulatory capture; he had spent the previous eight years as a coal industry lobbyist at Faegre Baker Daniels; where his primary client was Murray Energy Corporation; the largest private coal company in America; owned by Robert Murray; a major Trump donor and aggressive climate change denier. Before lobbying; Wheeler spent 14 years working for Senator James Inhofe; the Senate's most prominent climate change skeptic; serving as his chief counsel on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. As EPA Administrator; Wheeler systematically rolled back Obama-era environmental regulations; he replaced the Clean Power Plan with the far weaker Affordable Clean Energy rule; weakened mercury and air toxics standards; rolled back methane emission regulations for the oil and gas industry; loosened coal ash disposal rules; weakened fuel efficiency standards for automobiles; and narrowed which waterways and wetlands receive federal protection under the Clean Water Act. Environmental groups documented over 100 environmental rollbacks during the Trump administration; many under Wheeler's direct authority. Despite his background; Wheeler was generally seen as a more effective deregulator than his predecessor Pruitt; accomplishing more rollbacks while generating fewer personal ethics scandals.

Key Affiliations

Controversies & Concerns

Related Investigations (6)

Known Associates & Connections

Sources & Documentation

3 documented sources from official records, investigations, and reports