Climate change denier cut from CEQ running, environmentalists brace for next nominee

In what one leading conservationist called a “victory for science,” the nomination of climate change denier Kathleen Hartnett White as head of the Council on Environmental Quality—a White House advisory board that coordinates environmental policy across multiple government agencies—reportedly has been withdrawn. Hartnett White, who once called carbon dioxide the “gas of life” and described renewable energy as “unreliable and parasitic,” saw her nomination languish after Senate hearings last November, during which she stumbled over basic scientific facts and appeared to correct herself after questioning the extent of human involvement in climate change. The Trump administration renewed her nomination earlier this year, only to withdraw it after facing continuing bipartisan criticism and struggling to secure enough votes. But before environmentalists celebrate for too long: Hartnett White’s withdrawal clears room for potential EPA nominees, including Andrew R. Wheeler, a lobbyist for the coal industry.