A staffer at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency with long ties to former EPA administrator Scott Pruitt has been selected by Oklahoma's new governor to serve as state secretary of energy and environment.
Gov.-elect Kevin Stitt announced Wednesday that Kenneth Wagner has been appointed to the cabinet-level position. Oklahoma previously had separate cabinet positions for energy and environment, but Gov. Mary Fallin combined those during her first term.
Wagner currently works for the EPA as senior adviser to the administrator for regional and state affairs. He came to the federal agency during the tenure of Pruitt, who attended law school with Wagner and worked with him at a Tulsa-area law firm.
Stitt has named several top-level appointments this week as he prepares to take office on Jan. 14.