Senators consider former lobbyist as EPA's permanent chief

WASHINGTON (AP) — Acting Environmental Protection Agency chief Andrew Wheeler's past lobbying work for coal companies and other industries regulated by the agency is expected to draw scrutiny Wednesday when a Senate committee considers his nomination to the position.

Wheeler's roughly six-month tenure as the agency's acting administrator has been far more low-key than that of the man he replaced, Scott Pruitt. Pruitt's fondness for the perks of power and for alleged favors — from round-the-clock bodyguards to lavish travel to special deals on mattresses from the Trump International Hotel — generated constant headlines and helped lead to Pruitt's resignation as the agency's administrator in July.