President Donald Trump on July 5 said that he has accepted the resignation of Scott Pruitt as the Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
EPA Deputy Administrator Andrew Wheeler was named acting Administrator for the federal agency. Wheeler, a former staff member for Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla., and coal industry lobbyist, was confirmed by the Senate on April 12 and will become acting EPA Administrator effective July 9.
Pruitt was sworn in as EPA chief on February 17, 2017. He has faced calls in recent months from many Democrats and some Republicans to step down in light of scandals involving travel expenses, office purchases, and more.
While Pruitt was leading the regulatory reform efforts at EPA, regulatory reform is expected to continue to be an important objective of the EPA under the Trump administration.
