President Donald Trump appointed Wyoming native Cyrus M. Western to replace former Colorado Speaker of the House and EPA Region 8 administrator K.C. Becker as head of the region.

Western, 35, is a Wyoming native from Big Horn and served as the house majority whip in the Wyoming State House of Representatives. While there, the Republican served on the Minerals, Business and Economic Development Committee, chaired the Oil and Gas Bonding Working Group, and was vice chair of the Tourism, Recreation and Wildlife Committee.

“I’m honored to be appointed to lead EPA Region 8 under Administrator Lee Zeldin and President Trump,” said Western. “I’m grateful for the opportunity to serve the people of the region and foster human health and environmental protection while encouraging sound economic growth.”

Region 8 includes Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota and 28 federally recognized Tribes.

Western takes office in the midst of an upheaval in federal environmental regulation as the Trump administration works to reduce the size of the federal government. Another challenge he will face is the overturning of the 1985 Chevron Doctrine decision by the U.S. Supreme Court that required federal courts to defer to administrative agencies’ reasonable interpretations of ambiguous statutes. The Court overturned that doctrine in 2024 in the Loper Bright case, saying that federal courts are required to exercise independent judgment when interpreting statutes rather than deferring to agency interpretations.

“Loper means that if EPA and other federal agencies justify replacing prior Biden administration regulations based on claims they were illegal, then such agencies will have to prove that to federal courts in order to succeed,” said environmental attorney Paul Seby.

“At the end of the day — and this is something that Administrator Zelin really hammered on in his confirmation hearings — our job is to enforce the law,” Western told The Denver Gazette. “What does the law say? We enforce that.” 

“That’s kind of like our guiding principle,” he said. “And I would imagine in the coming months and years, we’ll see plenty of lawsuits come forth, and obviously the Chevron deference decision will have a big impact on that. But me personally, I’m taking on a case-by-case basis.”

Becker appreciated Western’s willingness to cross the political gulf between administrations to get some advice from her.

“I did meet him. I didn’t know him previously. I appreciated the fact that he reached out just to get my impressions and advice,” Becker told The Denver Gazette. “His job is going to be to implement the Trump administration’s priorities. Just like my job was to implement the Biden administration’s priorities. … I think Cyrus is a real champion for rural communities.”

EPA Administrator Zeldin, who took office on Jan. 29, is the 17th EPA Administrator.

“As we work to Power the Great American Comeback at EPA, we continue to assemble a fantastic team,” said Zeldin in a news release. “I am grateful Cyrus Western is joining EPA as our Regional Administrator for Region 8. I know with Cyrus’ experience in the Wyoming State House of Representatives championing energy and wildlife conservation, he will work non-stop to implement President Trump’s policies across the Region.”