Virginia Senate panel rejects ex-Trump EPA chief for Youngkin’s Cabinet

A Virginia state Senate panel voted 9-6 along party lines Tuesday to block former Trump EPA head Andrew Wheeler from joining Gov. Glenn Youngkin's Cabinet as secretary of natural resources.

State of play: The majority-Democratic Privileges and Elections Committee voted to remove Wheeler's name from a resolution to approve Youngkin's cabinet picks. But Republicans could still approve Wheeler's nomination with the support of at least one Democrat in the full Senate.

• Between the lines: At least one Democrat, state Sen. Joe Morrissey, told Courthouse News he would be open to voting in favor of Wheeler.

The backdrop: Wheeler rolled back many of the regulations intended to address climate change during his tenure as an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) administrator.

• He also expressed doubts about mainstream climate science findings, dismissing the National Climate Assessment, which the EPA contributed to, as too reliant on "worst-case scenarios."