Senators make right call by pulling Wheeler from consideration for Youngkin Cabinet post

For Immediate Release:
Tuesday, Feb. 1, 2022

Contact:
Lee Francis | Deputy Director
Virginia League of Conservation Voters
(434) 989-3197 | lfrancis@valcv.org

 

RICHMOND – Today, the Senate Committee on Privileges and Elections voted 9-6 to remove Andrew Wheeler from SJ 84, a resolution to confirm Governor Youngkin’s cabinet-level appointments.  

Wheeler, a former coal lobbyist and head of the Environmental Protection Agency under President Trump where he presided over an unprecedented reversal of environmental laws and regulations, drew immediate criticism when he was nominated to be Virginia’s next Secretary of Natural and Historic Resources.

In response to today’s action, Michael Town, executive director of the Virginia League of Conservation Voters, issued the following statement.

“Andrew Wheeler is unfit to lead Virginia’s environmental agencies. Today, Senators in the Privileges and Elections Committee made the right call by removing him from consideration. We hope the Youngkin Administration can find a replacement Secretary who actually has a demonstrable record of caring about environmental protection, not working to undermine safeguards that protect clean air, clean water, and our health.”

About us:
The Virginia League of Conservation Voters serves as the political voice of the state’s conservation community, working to make sure Virginia’s elected officials recognize that our natural heritage is an environmental and economic treasure for all. Virginia LCV works with conservation leaders across Virginia and strives for a conservation majority in state government. We secure good public policies on the state level and hold public officials accountable for their positions on environmental issues. For more information, visit www.valcv.org.

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