Source: POLITICO'S MORNING AGRICULTURE, 7/8/18

Thursday afternoon's sudden announcement that EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt resigned after more than a dozen ethics investigations flooded our inboxes with organizations — particularly environmental groups — celebrating his departure. One Republican close to the White House told POLITICO that support for Pruitt waned after the president realized that his deputy, Andrew Wheeler, could easily carry out the same agenda for deregulation but without the drama.

Welcome news to ethanol interests: Pro Energy's Eric Wolff reports that ethanol producers celebrated after Pruitt antagonizedthem, as well as Midwestern farmers, with repeated efforts to ease RFS requirements on refiners. North Dakota farmer Kevin Skunes, president of the National Corn Growers Association, said bluntly, "It's no secret corn farmers have been frustrated with Scott Pruitt's ongoing actions over the past year that have seriously undermined the Renewable Fuel Standard."

Bob Dinneen, CEO of the Renewable Fuels Association, added, "We look forward to working with acting Administrator Andy Wheeler, whose long career focusing on policies that recognize economic growth and environmental protection are not mutually exclusive is not undermined by an unmistakable anti-ethanol, anti-farmer bias."

Rejoicing lawmakers: Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley, who had been infuriated by Pruitt's actions on RFS, said that "President Trump made the right decision." He added that "fewer things are more important for government officials than maintaining public trust. Administrator Pruitt, through his own actions, lost that trust. I hope acting Administrator Wheeler views this as an opportunity to restore this administration's standing with farmers and the biofuels industry."

Eyes on Wheeler: Wheeler, however, had a six-month confirmation battle before he became the No. 2 leader of the EPA, Eric reports. Before he assumed office in April, Democrats and the environmental community rallied hard against Wheeler, pointing to his work as a coal lobbyist and his time as an aide to Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), who rejects mainstream climate science. On Thursday, Food Policy Action swiftly noted that Wheeler is "a former coal industry lobbyist and climate-change denier."

Wheeler's reputation as a smooth insider who works well with both friends and adversaries may make him even more effective at deregulation. When he was a lawyer, his clients included large corporations and ag conglomerates such as International Paper, Archer Daniels Midland and General Mills. ProPublica lists all his previous clients and positions.