Since then, Mr.

Wheeler has distinguished himself among top officials in the Trump

administration for his low-key, under-the-radar style, even as he has worked diligently and
methodically to advance Mr. Trump’s deregulatory agenda.

While Mr. Pruitt, the former Oklahoma attorney general, gained notice for his political ambition
and close ties to the president, he also faced allegations that he used his office to seek special
favors, such as employment opportunities for his wife, and that he overspent on personal security
and travel.

And while Mr. Pruitt won Mr. Trump’s praise for putting forth dozens of policy moves designed to
tear down former President Barack Obama’s environmental agenda, many of those have since
been challenged or struck down by the courts.

Mr. Wheeler, on the other hand, has led the professional life of a technocrat, avoiding the limelight
in favor of carefully advancing his boss’s agenda. Both his supporters and critics say Mr.
Wheeler’s history as a coal lobbyist, former E.P.A. official and senior Senate staffer could make
him far more formidable at effectively advancing Mr. Trump’s deregulation policies, while
avoiding the political spotlight or ethical pitfalls that derailed his predecessor.

“I would say he’s been absolutely as relentless and faithful to the agenda as Pruitt was,” said
Joseph Goffman, who previously served as chief counsel to E.P.A.’s air chief in the Obama
administration.

Mr. Wheeler began his career at the E.P.A. in the 1990s before working in the Senate for more
than a decade with James Inhofe, Republican of Oklahoma. Senator Inhofe is one of the most
prominent members of Congress who denies the established science of human-caused climate
change.

Mr. Wheeler later became a lobbyist at the Faegre Baker Daniels consulting firm, where his top
client was the coal magnate Robert E. Murray, chief executive of the Murray Energy. Over a
period of eight years, Mr. Murray paid Mr. Wheeler’s firm more than $2.7 million.

Mr. Murray, a champion of the coal industry and a strong supporter of Mr. Trump, lobbied senior
officials at the White House last year with a wish list of actions he wanted to see the
administration take. The items included withdrawing to the Paris climate agreement and rolling
back Mr. Obama’s signature climate change regulation, the Clean Power Plan, which was
designed to reduce planet-warming emissions from coal plants and encourage renewable energy.

During Mr. Wheeler’s confirmation hearing to be E.P.A. deputy administrator, and later when he
became acting administrator, he acknowledged working with Mr. Murray to fight the Clean Power
Plan. But he said he had no substantive involvement with the memos that Mr. Murray wrote
outlining his regulatory wish list. Mr. Wheeler also said he did not lobby E.P.A. on Mr. Murray’s
behalf after the 2016 election, knowing he might join the Trump administration.