Only one day in, acting EPA administrator Andrew Wheeler, a coal lobbyist, is already accumulating his share of scandal and controversy as he pursues Scott Pruitt’s corrupt agenda of eliminating safeguards that protect Americans from air and water pollution.
- His corporate polluter ties:
- Since 2009, Wheeler has lobbied for at least 17 companies, including mining, coal, gas, nuclear energy, auto and food industries companies, according to CNN. One of the energy companies that Wheeler lobbied for, Energy Fuels Inc, is seeking contracts from the EPA.
- Another of these companies is Celanese Corp., a major formaldehyde manufacturer. According to Politico, EPA is holding onto a report detailing that most Americans inhale enough formaldehyde through daily life to put them at risk of developing leukemia.
- Despite his lengthy industry connections, Wheeler has only recused himself from working on Energy Star -- all other conflicts of interest are still in Wheeler’s wheelhouse.
- His very problematic twitter account:
- Wheeler deleted his "Milo Truther" conspiracy theorist tweet, in which he promoted a video by one of the leading figures on the notorious InfoWarz conspiracy site.
- Wheeler launched a bizarre attack on the American Lung Association for its relationship with the …. EPA. He has yet to delete the tweet.
- Wheeler’s contribution to cabinet diplomacy does not look promising. He implied that South Korean musician PSY and North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un are the same person. Wheeler has also yet to delete this tweet.
- These are the tweets we know about. After being appointed last week, Wheeler purged 12 tweets from his personal @AndrewRWheeler twitter account.
- His hype man:
- The person Wheeler dispatched to assure the public things are going to change for the better at EPA, John Konkus, is a Pruitt hire who supposedly resigned in May.
- While at EPA Konkus has/had a several undisclosed outside clients and who collaborated with external climate denier groups.
- Just look at this photo:
- On March 29, 2017, then-coal lobbyist Wheeler was at a secret Administration meeting pushing a plan to "save coal." Attendees included Wheeler, Department of Energy Secretary Rick Perry, and Murray Energy CEO Bob Murray.
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with more than 3 million members and supporters. In addition to helping people from all backgrounds explore nature and our outdoor heritage, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.