President-elect Donald Trump's short-list of contenders to head the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency includes two current energy industry lobbyists who held leading roles there under Republican President George W. Bush, according to two sources with knowledge of the list.
The potential choices dovetail with Trump's vow to slash U.S. environmental regulation and resist regulatory efforts to combat global climate change, positions Trump shares with his Republican predecessor in the Oval Office.
Top contenders for the job include Jeff Holmstead, an energy industry attorney at Bracewell law firm who was assistant administrator for the EPA's Office of Air and Radiation from 2001 to 2005, and Mike Catanzaro, a lobbyist for CGCN who was an associate deputy administrator at the EPA from 2005 to 2007, according to the sources.