Kenneth Wagner is an American attorney who served as the Oklahoma Secretary of Energy and Environment between 2019 and 2022.
Kenneth Wagner | |
|---|---|
| Oklahoma Secretary of Energy and Environment | |
| In office January 14, 2019 – August 14, 2022 | |
| Governor | Kevin Stitt |
| Preceded by | Michael J. Teague |
| Succeeded by | Ken McQueen |
Early life, education, and legal career
Wagner attended the University of Oklahoma and graduated from the University of Tulsa College of Law in 1993.[1][2]
Friendship with Scott Pruitt
Wagner co-owned a company with Scott Pruitt that purchased a former lobbyist's home near the Oklahoma Capitol in Oklahoma City in December 2002, while Pruitt was a state senator. Pruitt later worked for Wagner's law firm Latham, Wagner Steele & Lehman. During Pruitt's tenure as Oklahoma Attorney General, Wagner's firm received over $600,000 in state contracts.[3]
In March 2017, Scott Pruitt appointed Wagner as a senior adviser for regional and state affairs at the United States Environmental Protection Agency.[2]
Oklahoma Secretary of Energy and Environment
In November 2018, Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt announced he would appoint Wagner as the Oklahoma Secretary of Energy and Environment.[4] He was officially appointed Oklahoma Secretary of Energy and Environment to replace Michael J. Teague on January 14, 2019, pending the confirmation of the Oklahoma Senate.[5] On July 22, 2019, Governor Kevin Stitt appointed him to the Southern States Energy Board, also to replace Teague.[6] He was succeed as Secretary by Ken McQueen on August 15, 2022, and on the energy board on August 17.[7][8]
As Secretary, Wagner opposed granting tribal governments in Oklahoma the authority to implement their own environmental regulations.[9] He also supported hydrogen energy, natural gas, and renewable energy development in Oklahoma.[10] He praised the United States Supreme Court's decision in West Virginia v. EPA.[11]
In April 2022, Wagner was appointed the first executive director of the Hamm Institute for American Energy, a part of the Oklahoma State University named after Harold Hamm.[1]