Wheeler to Face Hill Hearing Next Week Despite EPA Shutdown

EPA Acting Administrator Andrew Wheeler will get his day on Capitol Hill next week, even if the agency he’s been tapped to permanently lead is still shut down.

The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee will hold a hearing on Wheeler’s nomination to be the Environmental Protection Agency chief Jan. 16, the committee announced Jan. 9. The move drew criticism from Democrats, though they face long odds in spiking the nomination.

The move wasn’t a surprise: Trump had publicly signaled in November that he intended to tap Wheeler—who has been serving as the EPA’s acting ...