Environmental Protection Agency chief Andrew Wheeler, a former coal industry lobbyist, signed a replacement rule that gives states leeway in deciding whether to require efficiency upgrades at existing coal plants.
Senators voted 52-47 to confirm Andrew Wheeler, who was nominated by President Donald Trump after former administrator Scott Pruitt resigned last year amid a series of ethics allegations.
The 11-10 vote by the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee sends President Donald Trump's nomination of acting Environmental Protection Agency chief and former coal lobbyist Andrew Wheeler to the full Senate.