Trump announces nominations of deputy chiefs for EPA, Energy Department President Trump on Thursday announced the nominations of two officials to become the deputy chiefs of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Energy Department. Douglas Benevento will be nominated as the EPA’s deputy administrator and Mark Menezes will be nominated to be the deputy Energy secretary. Benevento has held various roles at the EPA since 2017, most recently serving as associate deputy administrator. Before joining the Trump administration, he worked for Xcel Energy, a gas and electric utility. He was also registered as a lobbyist for Colorado Interstate Gas. He is reportedly close with Andrew Wheeler , the agency’s administrator. According to E&E News , Wheeler was a groomsman in Benevento’s 2000 wedding. Wheeler said in a statement on the nomination that he has “known and worked with” Benevento for years and that he is “uniquely qualified” for the […]