Biography
On February 28, 2019, the U.S. Senate confirmed Andrew Wheeler as the fifteenth Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. President Donald J. Trump had announced his appointment as the Acting EPA Administrator on July 5, 2018. Mr. Wheeler had previously been confirmed by the U.S. Senate as the EPA Deputy Administrator on April 12, 2018.
Mr. Wheeler has dedicated his career to advancing sound environmental policies. He began his career during the George H. W. Bush Administration as a Special Assistant in EPA's Pollution Prevention and Toxics office.
He was a Principal and the team leader of the Energy and Environment Practice Group at FaegreBD Consulting, as well as Counsel at Faegre Baker Daniels law firm, where he practiced since 2009. He also served as the Co-chair of the Energy and Natural Resources Industry team across the entire firm.
Prior to his work with the firm, Mr. Wheeler served for six years as the Majority Staff Director and Chief Counsel, as well as the Minority Staff Director, of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works. Before his time at the full Senate EPW Committee, Mr. Wheeler served in a similar capacity for six years for the Subcommittee on Clean Air, Climate Change, Wetlands and Nuclear Safety.
Mr. Wheeler is the past Chairman of the National Energy Resource Organization (NERO) and a Stennis Fellow. Mr. Wheeler is also an Eagle Scout.
Mr. Wheeler was born in Hamilton, Ohio. He completed his law degree at Washington University in St. Louis, his MBA at George Mason University, and his undergraduate work at Case Western Reserve University in English and Biology.
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2 Events
March 5, 2025
Past Event
March Virtual Press Briefing: Energy and Environment: The Trump Challenge
Lee Zeldin, new Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, has said, “It’s important for us urgently to do everything in our power to make sure Americans have the cleanest air, land, and water. That’s something that keeps me up at night."
Environmentalists and many in the energy sector believe the Trump administration is doing just the opposite. It has taken aim at a raft of laws and regulations which protect the environment, including the National Environmental Policy Act, bulwark of a vast structure of environmental laws and protections since it was signed into law by President Nixon in 1970.
There is alarm in the utility industry about the administration’s antipathy to wind generation. Its enthusiasm for coal alarms clean air advocates who see it as a step backward.
There also is alarm about the future of transitional funding guaranteed during the Biden administration, under the Inflation Reduction Act, to enhance clean energy and finance transition from polluting fuels to green ones. That funding is frozen and the Department of Government Efficiency operatives have slashed employment in the Department of Energy’s loan office. What now?
The rural electric cooperatives are worried about $9 billion in financing they were to get from the Department of Agriculture for rural electrification projects.
Lesser laws like the Endangered Species Act, it is feared by their defenders, may be repealed or circumvented.
The United States Energy Association at its next virtual press briefing, set for March 5, at 11 a.m. EST, will examine what to expect from the Trump administration in its reshaping of environmental policy, and the nature and scope of the legal opposition. Court challenges have already been filed and many more are expected.
As usual, a panel of experts will be questioned by a panel of senior journalists who cover energy and the environment.
Journalist Llewellyn King organizes and moderates the press briefings, which are broadcast live on Zoom and last an hour. Mark Menezes gives welcoming remarks and is on hand to share his deep knowledge as president and CEO of USEA and as a former deputy secretary of energy.
The Experts:
Andrew Wheeler, former Administrator, EPA
Tom Falcone, President & CEO, Large Public Power Council
Emily Fisher, Chief Strategy Officer, SEPA Power
Karl Moor, Chief Executive Officer, Powerscape Global
Diana Furchtgott-Roth, Director, Center for Energy, Climate and Environment, The Heritage Foundation
Derek Murrow, Senior Director, Federal Power, Climate and Energy, NRDC
Brad Molotsky, Partner, Duane Morris
The Reporters:
Jennifer Hiller, The Wall Street Journal
Markham Hislop, Energi (Canada)
Evan Halper, The Washington Post
Adam Clayton Powell III, PBS
Matt Chester, Energy Central
Ken Silverstein, Forbes
Peter Behr, E&E News
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May 23, 2019
Past Event
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USEA Annual Membership Meeting & Public Policy Forum
Each year USEA hosts its Annual Membership Meeting & Public Policy Forum to highlight industry achievements and developments in energy policy.
The event will feature a distinguished group of speakers with over 150 energy stakeholders, journalists, diplomats, and government agency officials expected to attend.
We will also recognize and honor recipients of the 2019 United States Energy Award and USEA Volunteer Awards.
Washington, District of Columbia
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