Former EPA chief Andrew Wheeler said he will not return to the environmental agency as a deputy administrator.
Wheeler, who in 2019 was confirmed as EPA administrator under then-President Donald Trump, said speculation by Washington insiders that Trump’s transition team was considering him for the No. 2 slot at EPA was inaccurate, and that he wouldn’t accept the position.
He also questioned whether any of the names being circulating for possible senior environmental and energy positions were coming from the transition team itself.
“The people who are tossing around names aren’t in the know. And they don’t know who’s being considered,” said Wheeler, who heads the federal affairs team at Holland & Hart. “This is a very tight-lipped transition process.”
