Acting head of the Environmental Protection Agency, Andrew Wheeler, is a step closer to Senate confirmation to be named full-time administrator of the EPA. The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee voted today to approve Wheeler as head of the organization.

Wheeler has been acting head of the EPA since former administrator Scott Pruitt stepped down in July, following a number of ethics scandals.

Wheeler was narrowly approved, with the committee voting 11-10 along party lines, reports the Associated Press. Republicans say Wheeler’s time so far as EPA head has proved he is capable of leading the agency, and have applauded his continuation of Pruitt’s deregulatory agenda, while Democrats say his leadership will contribute to harming gathering environment, the climate, and public health.

Wheeler is a former coal lobbyist and is being accused by Democrats of “cutting environmental protections to benefit fossil fuel and other industries,” writes The Hill.

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