The White House plans to pull back its nomination of a former a veteran Arizona water official to lead the Bureau of Reclamation, leaving the agency without permanent leadership nine months into President Donald Trump’s second term. Ted Cooke, a former top official at the Central Arizona Project, told POLITICO’s E&E News on Wednesday that he has been informed his nomination will be rescinded. … Although it is not unusual for Reclamation to be without permanent leadership until late in the first year of a new president term, the Colorado River negotiations put more pressure on the White House to fill the post.

Other Colorado River news:

• The Colorado Sun (Denver): Progress on Colorado River negotiations slows to a trickle
• Cowboy State Daily (Cheyenne, Wyo.): Wyoming, other upper Colorado River states, say lower basin states hog water
• Newsweek: Calls for ‘immediate action’ over Lake Powell, Lake Mead water use
• The Land Desk: Blog: Experts: Slash Colorado River consumption ASAP to avoid crisis
• Earth.com: The Colorado River is running dry, and scientists think they know why