Washington (CNN) Several former Environmental Protection Agency administrators on Tuesday offered strong rebukes of the Trump administration's approach to environmental policy and commitment to science, saying its handling of the EPA will have negative consequences for Americans.

During her testimony before the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Christine Todd Whitman, who served under President George W. Bush, cited a 2018 American Journal of Public Health study that concluded the Trump administration "has explicitly sought to reorient the EPA toward industrial and industry-friendly interest, often with little or no acknowledgment of the agency's health and environmental missions."

"This unprecedented attack on science-based regulations designed to protect the environment and public health represents the gravest threat to the effectiveness of the EPA -- and to the federal government's overall ability to do the same -- in the nation's history," Whitman said.

The hearing comes as the Trump administration faces scrutiny from environmental and regulatory groups for its approach to environmental policy, specifically climate change. Earlier this year, the Senate confirmed Andrew Wheeler, a former coal industry lobbyist, to be the new head of the EPA.

"I find it disconcerting because this collection of past EPA administrators feel obligated to testify together and individually to make the case that what is happening at EPA today is simply put, not normal and to solicit your help to get it on a more productive path," said Gina McCarthy, who served in the Obama administration.

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