Former President Donald Trump may turn to one of his former appointees to shoulder a tough gig in his possible second term: running EPA.
If victorious in his White House bid, Trump will want an EPA administrator to pull back the vast swath of agency regulations crafted by the Biden administration as well as bring to heel its resistance-minded career staff. That job would have to be done in four years, all under intense media scrutiny and relentless congressional oversight.
Myron Ebell, who led Trump’s last EPA transition team, said the obstacles ahead for the former president if he returns to power will be much greater than those Trump faced in 2017.
“EPA is one of the key jobs,” Ebell said. “I hope Trump picks someone who is highly competent and highly ambitious for the scope of the challenge.”
POLITICO’s E&E News spoke to 10 former Trump administration officials and conservative allies versed in energy and environmental policy who requested anonymity to discuss the sensitive personnel decision the ex-president would have in picking his next EPA leader.
Several said Trump could turn to his last EPA administrator, Andrew Wheeler, to take charge of the agency again.
Earlier this year, Wheeler indicated to Politico he was open to returning to EPA if asked. Unlike some other former Trump Cabinet members, Wheeler has endorsed the ex-president and Trump posted on social media talking points supposedly drafted by Wheeler for his debate with President Joe Biden.
After leaving EPA, Wheeler went to Virginia state government, standing up its first regulatory management office for Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin after state Democratic senators blocked his confirmation as natural and historic resources secretary. He is now partner and head of federal affairs for law firm Holland & Hart.
“I think it’s Wheeler if he wants it. People like working with him,” said an ex-Trump administration official. “He knows what he’s doing. He’s not a wild card.”
Wheeler didn’t respond to questions for this story.
In addition, many considered Mandy Gunasekara as vying to be Trump’s next head of EPA.
She served at the Trump EPA, including as chief of staff, and wrote the EPA chapter of the Project 2025 plan, which would dramatically rework the agency and was developed by conservative supporters. Trump has sought to distance himself from the proposal, which Democrats have vilified on the campaign trail.
Gunasekara, however, said she is not interested in being EPA administrator.
“I do not want that role,” Gunasekara told E&E News. She noted she lives in Oxford, Mississippi, adding: “It’s heaven on earth, and I don’t plan to leave.”
Others said Aurelia Skipwith Giacometto could be a contender to lead Trump’s EPA.
Giacometto was Trump’s Fish and Wildlife Service director. Like Wheeler, she moved into state government after Trump’s failed 2020 bid and was named by GOP Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry to head up the state’s Department of Environmental Quality.
The Louisiana DEQ had no comment when contacted for this story.
Some see Trump choosing North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, a contender to be Trump’s running mate earlier this year, for a high-profile energy or environmental position. That could be a senior White House role or a Cabinet post, such as Energy secretary, Interior secretary or EPA administrator.
Michael Catanzaro, once a top Trump White House aide on energy and environmental policy, and Doug Benevento, who was EPA acting deputy administrator during the Trump administration, could be in the mix for the agency’s top job, too.
Both Catanzaro and Benevento declined to comment when asked if they were interested in being Trump’s next EPA administrator. So did a Burgum spokesperson when contacted for this story.
Travis Voyles, a former Trump EPA official and Virginia’s secretary of natural and historic resources, could be in line for a top job in a possible second Trump term, including EPA deputy administrator.
Voyles didn’t reply to an inquiry for this story.
Meanwhile, Trump campaign spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said, “There have been no discussions of who will serve in a second Trump administration.”
Leavitt added, “At the appropriate time, President Trump will choose the best people to help advance his America First agenda and solve the problems created by Kamala Harris and Joe Biden’s failed policies.”
Staff, reg cuts on the agenda
Trump has pledged to restore his prior executive order that would make it easier to fire career staff in the federal government. He has indicated environmental agencies could be on the chopping block as well.
The former president has blasted Biden’s energy regulations, too, such as EPA’s latest auto emission standards that could lead to a surge in electric vehicle sales.
Ebell, now chair of the American Lands Council, which seeks to transfer federal lands to the states, pointed to the deregulatory push the next Trump EPA would lead, He noted a wide range of rules, including power plant standards for greenhouse gas emissions, as well as subsidies under the Inflation Reduction Act.
“The entire energy sector is under threat of major dislocation because of stupid regulatory interventions,” Ebell said.
Several former Trump officials said the pick to lead that charge at the agency will need to know EPA inside and out. Also, that person should be familiar enough with Washington to lean on prior relationships on Capitol Hill and craft durable rules that won’t be tossed in court because of administrative law hiccups.
Overall, time will be short — too short for a former elected official outside the nation’s capital to come in as administrator, which might require on-the-job training and a lengthy adjustment period.
“They need to be able to set an agenda and go immediately,” said a former Trump EPA official.
But presidents can hand out Cabinet-level posts such as EPA administrator as political favors. Trump supporters, especially red state governors, attorneys general and members of Congress, could jump ahead of others if they want the job.
Scott Pruitt, then the ambitious Oklahoma attorney general, raised his profile by repeatedly suing the agency. Pruitt won the EPA job after Trump interviewed him during his first transition. Pruitt later resigned under a wave of ethics troubles.
“The best candidate for EPA administrator will interview well at Mar-a-Lago,” said Jahan Wilcox, a GOP political consultant and former Trump EPA senior communications adviser. “It will likely be an attorney general from the Midwest.”
Confirmation battles
Trump has to win election but will also need Republicans to fare well in Senate races to improve confirmation chances for his EPA nominee.
If the GOP fails to win control of the chamber, more-conservative picks may not end up being nominated. Democrats would be expected to oppose en masse Trump’s nominees, including his EPA selection.
Troy Lyons, who led the Trump EPA’s congressional and intergovernmental relations office, said the president, regardless of party, traditionally gets the majority of their initial Cabinet picks confirmed. Having the Senate in friends’ hands can make that process much easier.
“There is a lot of scrutiny over the nomination of EPA administrator,” said Lyons, now senior director of federal affairs at Holland & Hart. “When you look at the breakdown at [the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee], you have to make sure the nominee is competent and can withstand a wide range of tough questions.”
During the previous Trump administration, the Senate confirmed Wheeler twice — first as EPA deputy administrator, later as EPA administrator — but both times on close, party-line votes. The chamber also approved Giacometto for her FWS post.
Other names on who could lead Trump’s EPA if he wins the race may yet emerge. Trump’s orbit is often in flux, with advisers banished at times only to return later.
Consequentially, it’s difficult to ascertain who could be picked for any post, not just his next EPA administrator.
“I think what’s unpredictable is who is going to be considered and who will end up on the final list,” said another former Trump administration official. “I don’t think anyone truly knows the answers to that today.”
