FILE PHOTO: Acting Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency Andrew Wheeler speaks during an event hosted by U.S. President Donald Trump with workers on "Cutting the Red Tape, Unleashing Economic Freedom" in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, U.S., October 17, 2018. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts/File Photo

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate on Thursday confirmed Andrew Wheeler, a former coal and oil lobbyist and President Donald Trump’s pick for the Environmental Protection Agency, to lead the nation’s top environmental regulator.

Wheeler has been in the job in an acting capacity since last July, when his predecessor, Scott Pruitt, stepped down amid a flurry of ethical misconduct allegations.