EPA announced that a farm industry lobbyist will take over as the agency’s top pesticides officer, deepening the number of appointees at the agency poached from industry groups.
Kyle Kunkler on Monday will start as the deputy assistant administrator for pesticides in the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention, the office’s principal deputy assistant administrator, Nancy Beck, said in an email to staff obtained by POLITICO’s E&E News.
Kunkler has spent the past five years directing government affairs for the American Soybean Association, an agriculture trade group advocating against regulations on pesticides targeted by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and his coalition of “Make America Healthy Again” supporters.
Prior to joining the trade group, Kunkler led federal government relations for the Biotech Innovation Organization’s food and agriculture team. He also previously served as an aide for Rep. Dan Newhouse and former Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, both Washington Republicans.
