Andrew Wheeler during his confirmation hearing to be Deputy Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency before the United States Senate Committee on the Environment and Public Works on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. on November 8th, 2017.

Andrew Wheeler, deputy administrator for the Environmental Protection Agency, will become the agency's acting chief following the resignation of Scott Pruitt, President Donald Trump said Thursday.

"I have no doubt that Andy will continue on with our great and lasting EPA agenda," Trump said in the same pair of tweets in which he announced Pruitt's resignation. "We have made tremendous progress and the future of the EPA is very bright!"

Wheeler will take over on Monday, Trump said.

Under Pruitt, the EPA became known more as a magnet for negative news bombshells than for its control over the Trump administration's environmental policy. But like his predecessor, Wheeler could prove to be a controversial pick among Trump's opponents, if only on policy grounds.

At the time of his resignation, Pruitt was mired in at least a dozen ethics probes into his workplace conduct and spending practices. While Trump heartily approved of Pruitt's deregulatory moves at the head of the EPA, a steady trickle of bad press prompted the White House in recent weeks to repeatedly express concerns.