Trump EPA Boss Wheeler to Serve Under Incoming Virginia Governor

Virginia Gov.-elect Glenn Youngkin said Wednesday he has selected former Trump EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler to be his secretary of natural resources.

In his new role, Wheeler will address Virginia’s need for a “diverse energy portfolio in place to fuel our economic growth, continued preservation of our natural resources, and a comprehensive plan to tackle rising sea levels,” Youngkin (R) said in a statement.

The department is the lead agency responsible for protecting and restoring Virginia’s natural and historic resources.

He also said Wheeler will help find “new ways to innovate and use our natural resources to provide Virginia with a stable, dependable, and growing power supply that will meet Virginia’s power demands without passing the costs on to the consumer.”

Wheeler ascended to the top leadership post at the Environmental Protection Agency in 2019 and served until the end of President Donald Trump’s term. He currently serves as a visiting fellow at the Heritage Foundation.

In May 2021, Wheeler told Bloomberg Law he wanted to spend his post-EPA life helping companies embed sustainability into their missions to avoid “just checking a box.” He also said he wanted to nudge companies and governments to look at environmental issues holistically, rather than narrowly scrutinizing one medium, such as air, water, or land.

Wheeler had earlier been selected to serve on Youngkin’s transition team. Youngkin will be sworn in on Jan. 15.

Criticism, Praise

Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.) was quick to condemn the pick, calling Wheeler “one of the worst people the Governor-elect could have chosen for this job.”

In Beyer’s view, Wheeler “led the Trump administration’s efforts to dismantle environmental protections, selling out the American people and the EPA’s very mission to benefit corporate polluters.”

Samantha Dravis, the former EPA associate administrator for policy during the Trump administration, called Wheeler a “phenomenal choice,” saying he has “demonstrated he knows how to balance protecting the environment with ensuring that people have reliable, affordable sources of energy.”

Also Wednesday, Youngkin said he had selected Michael Rolband to serve as his director of environmental quality. Rolband is the founder of Wetland Studies and Solutions, Inc., a consulting firm that works on regulatory, compliance, engineering, and ecosystem issues.

In his new role, Rolband will head up the agency that issues permits, conducts inspections, and administers state laws on air quality, water quality, water supply, renewable energy, and land protection.

Youngkin tweeted in October 2021 that climate change “poses a real challenge in Virginia,” noting the threats of storm water runoff and rising sea levels. But at times he has also expressed uncertainty about the causes of climate change, and has denounced the Virginia Clean Economy Act, which speeds the state’s transition to renewable energy.

He has also said he will remove Virginia from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, a network of East Coast states that aims to cap and bring down carbon emissions from the power sector. A Youngkin spokesman said RGGI will cost Virginia ratepayers an estimated $1 billion to $1.2 billion over the next four years.

—With assistance from Dean Scott.