Andrew Wheeler, the acting director of the EPA, is set to be nominated as the permanent replacement for Scott Pruitt by Donald Trump. This means that the person in charge of environmental policy for the United States will be a man who has spent much of his career lobbying on behalf of coal companies and other polluters. We are witnessing the complete takeover of our federal government by industry insiders and those seeking to profit off their new positions, as Ring of Fire’s Farron Cousins explains.

Farron Cousins is the executive editor of The Trial Lawyer magazine and a contributing writer at DeSmogBlog.com. He is the co-host / guest host for Ring of Fire Radio. His writings have appeared on Alternet, Truthout, and The Huffington Post. Farron received his bachelor's degree in Political Science from the University of West Florida in 2005 and became a member of American MENSA in 2009. Follow him on Twitter @farronbalanced