“Environmental groups and the largest union representing Environmental Protection Agency employees expressed optimism following a confirmation hearing Wednesday that President Biden’s pick to lead the EPA will bring back scientific integrity and trust at the agency.

If confirmed, Regan “has a difficult road ahead” as he will be “taking charge of a captive agency, where polluters and their lobbyists have driven many of the agency’s most important decisions,” said Tim Whitehouse, executive director of the nonprofit Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility. But Whitehouse added that “so far, President Biden and Michael Regan are making all the right moves by promising to bring the EPA back to its science roots and by bringing in an environmental team with few ties to industry.””