Today, Andrew Wheeler, ex-lobbyist for Murray Energy – the U.S.’s largest underground coal-mining corporation – was confirmed as deputy administrator for the Environmental Protection Agency. Murray Energy submitted a wish list to the Trump administration early in his presidency; it included the demand to “cut the staff of the U.S. environmental protection agency in at least half.”
Please see below for a statement from Corporate Accountability Deputy Campaigns Director Sriram Madhusoodanan.
With the confirmation of ex-lobbyist Wheeler joining oil-darling Pruitt, the only thing the EPA will still be protecting is Big Polluters’ profits. Wheeler’s addition to the parade of industry puppets in the Trump administration alongside Pruitt is, obviously, horrific for the actual protection of our environment. But, Wheeler and the rest of Trump’s cadre of ex-lobbyists, climate deniers and industry shills stand alone in the shadow of the millions of people across the U.S. and the world who are demanding action on climate. History will show that industry cronies concerned with protecting the fossil fuel industry’s profits will not silence or deter this movement.
