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News
Senate EPW Committee Holds Hearing on EPA Nominees
The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee held a hearing this week to consider four of President Trump’s nominees to serve at the EPA.
The hearing included testimony from:
- Michael Dourson, nominee to serve as the assistant administrator for the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention at the EPA;
- Matthew Leopold, nominee to be assistant administrator for the Office of General Counsel at the EPA;
- David Ross, nominee to be assistant administrator for the Office of Water at the EPA;
- William Wehrum, nominee to be assistant administrator for the Office of Air and Regulation at the EPA; and
EPW Chairman John Barrasso (R-WY) expressed his support for the nominees and called on committee members to swiftly confirm them to support EPA’s mission.
“We must act quickly to confirm all these EPA nominees, so the agency will be even better prepared to protect human health and the environment, enforce our environmental laws, and respond effectively when disaster strikes,” Barrasso said in his opening statement. “It is deeply unfortunate that blind opposition to all of this administration’s EPA nominees, including the well-respected Susan Bodine to be EPA’s enforcement chief, has stalled the confirmation process.
The committee’s minority members have expressed concern over some EPA nominees and their previous work with industry and business groups.
The hearing was an opportunity for senators to get a better understanding of the nominees’ positions on key issues. Votes on confirmation are likely to occur over the next several weeks.