The Senate on Tuesday confirmed two prominent nominees for energy and environment policy: David Fotouhi for EPA deputy administrator and Stephen Vaden for deputy Agriculture secretary.
Senators confirmed Fotouhi, an industry lawyer who also served in President Donald Trump’s first administration, by a vote of 53-41 along party lines.
Fotouhi is the third Trump EPA pick to secure confirmation, after Administrator Lee Zeldin and general counsel Sean Donahue. A half-dozen nominations are still pending, including those of Aaron Szabo to head the Office of Air and Radiation and Jessica Kramer to lead the Office of Water.
After serving in top jobs in EPA’s Office of General Counsel during Trump’s first term, Fotouhi has spent the last few years as a partner at the firm of Gibson, Dunn and Crutcher, where his client list has encompassed numerous businesses regulated by EPA, including carmakers Toyota and Mercedes-Benz and Matador Resources, an oil and gas producer, according to a financial disclosure report.
