Bill Wehrum hadn’t long been head of EPA’s air branch when he found himself back in familiar surroundings — the Washington, D.C., offices of his former law firm, speaking to an audience that included a one-time power industry client.
That 2017 episode foreshadowed what was to be a hallmark of then-President Donald Trump’s administration: a solicitous bond between industry figures and the air program’s politically appointed leaders that helped drive regulatory rollbacks and other decisions.
Should Trump win in November, the power of those appointees could grow expansively. The air branch would get a politically named chief of staff, according to Project 2025, the incendiary Heritage Foundation blueprint for the next Republican administration drafted by former Trump staffers.
Ditto for the air branch’s two most influential shops, the Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards and the Office of Transportation and Air Quality. Both have historically been headed by career employees and play a critical role in formulating Clean Air Act regulations. Under Project 2025, the two offices instead would be helmed by political appointees with “the requisite titles and authority,” the EPA chapter says.
