The U.S. Senate"s Environment and Public Works Committee on Wednesday approved the nomination of Jeffrey Prieto to become the Environmental Protection Agency"s top lawyer, setting the stage for the career public servant to return to public service in Washington, D.C.His nomination as EPA general counsel was moved forward on a voice vote in which all Democratic committee members voted yes along with two Republicans: Senators Kevin Cramer of North Dakota and Roger Wicker of Mississippi. His nomination will now head now to the full Senate for a vote, a Senate Democratic aide said. Prieto's two decades of government experience include a roughly two-year stint as U.S. Department of Agriculture's general counsel between 2015 and 2017. He was also previously general counsel of the U.S. Justice Department's Environment and Natural Resources Division under President Barack Obama. Speaking before the vote, Republican Senator Shelley Capito of West Virginia, the committee's ranking member, refused to back the Los Angeles lawyer's nomination. She cited her concerns over the Biden administration's intent to revisit which waterways under the Clean Water Act are "waters of the United States" that should be protected by federal regulation. The Trump administration in 2019 repealed an Obama-era regulation that had expanded pollution protections for waterways such as wetlands and shallow streams. She also lamented "Mr. Prieto's refusal to condemn overreaching regulations." The committee's chairman, Democratic Senator Thomas Carper of Delaware, said he had been "very impressed" with Prieto. "At his hearing, he demonstrated the kind of intelligence, the kind of poise, the kind of forthright commitment to EPA's mission that will make him an outstanding general counsel," Carper told committee members. EPA spokesperson Tim Carroll said the agency was "thrilled" by the vote's outcome, and that "Prieto is a highly qualified candidate to lead the office, with prior experience at EPA and decades of legal work at agencies like USDA and DOJ." Jonathan Brightbill, chair of Winston & Strawn's environmental litigation and enforcement practice, said that tasks that await Prieto, should he be confirmed, will include helping the EPA craft a "waters of the United States" replacement rule that can survive lawsuits. "There are a lot of high-profile regulatory and policy issues that are on the table which are controversial and likely to draw legal challenges," he said. EPA's push under President Joe Biden to revisit fuel efficiency standards as well as rules governing greenhouse gas emissions standards for light-duty vehicles and trucks are also hot-button issues that the general counsel will wrestle with, Brightbill added. Prieto, a father of two, is currently general counsel of the Los Angeles Community College District. If confirmed he will succeed EPA acting general counsel Melissa Hoffer. Read more: Ex-EPA general counsel Matthew Leopold lands at Hunton Andrews Kurth