WASHINGTON – Andrew Wheeler is no longer the acting director of the EPA following the Senate's vote Thursday to make him the official head of the environmental regulatory agency.

The Senate narrowly confirmed Wheeler 52-47, largely along party lines with Republicans in support and Democrats against him.

While leading President Donald Trump's deregulatory agenda, Wheeler also has emphasized the agency's work to clean up Superfund sites and, for the first time, begin regulating a set of harmful chemicals found in drinking water systems that serve millions of Americans.

"Mr. Wheeler has proven his ability to advance pragmatic solutions to pressing environmental challenges," Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said on the Senate floor before the vote.