Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) has named former Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Andrew Wheeler as a special adviser after Democrats in the state Senate voted down his appointment for a Cabinet post.
Macaulay Porter, a spokesperson for Youngkin’s office, confirmed the move to The Hill Tuesday morning. The position, which does not require General Assembly confirmation, will concentrate on issues relating to natural resources.
Wheeler, who served as head of the EPA under then-President Trump from 2019 to 2021, was Youngkin’s nominee for state secretary of natural resources. The nomination was immediately controversial among environmental groups, who are longtime critics of Wheeler due to both his history as a coal lobbyist and the numerous environmental regulations he rolled back at the EPA.
In particular, Democrats, green groups and former EPA employees excoriated Wheeler for his support for a rule, introduced under his predecessor Scott Pruitt, that barred the use of scientific studies that did not make the entirety of their data public.
Wheeler has not falsely claimed human-caused climate change is a hoax, but has called the threat exaggerated and said he does not believe it to be an existential threat.
Democrats retained a slim majority in the Virginia Senate after the GOP swept statewide offices in the 2021 election, but after a largely convivial committee hearing in January, it was unclear whether any would cross the aisle to vote for Wheeler. State Sen. Joe Morrissey (D) in particular suggested Wheeler had “acquitted himself well” under questioning and was considering backing him.
During the hearing, Wheeler defended his environmental positions and said the media had misrepresented his history on conservation. However, the chamber rejected him 21-19 on Feb. 8, making him the first Cabinet nominee voted down by the General Assembly since 2006.
Under the state constitution, Wheeler remained in the position until this weekend, the end of the General Assembly’s 2022 session.