Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency | |
---|---|
Member of | Cabinet |
Inaugural holder | William D. Ruckelshaus |
Formation | 1970 |
Website | www |
The administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency is the head of the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and is thus responsible for enforcing the nation's Clean Air and Clean Water Acts, as well as numerous other environmental statutes. The administrator is nominated by the president of the United States and must be confirmed by a vote of the Senate.
On March 10, 2021, Michael S. Regan was confirmed by a vote 66 to 34 as the administrator of the EPA, the first Black man to serve in this role. [1]
Since the Clinton administration, the EPA administrator has been accorded cabinet rank by the president. The administrator of the EPA is equivalent to the position of Minister of the Environment in other countries. There have been various proposals to make the EPA a full executive department.
Officeholder | Term | President(s) | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
William Ruckelshaus | December 4, 1970 – April 30, 1973 | Richard Nixon | ||
Robert W. Fri Acting | April 30, 1973 – September 12, 1973 | |||
Russell E. Train | September 12, 1973 – January 20, 1977 | |||
Gerald Ford | ||||
John Quarles Jr. Acting | January 21, 1977 – March 6, 1977 | Jimmy Carter | ||
Douglas M. Costle | March 7, 1977 – January 20, 1981 | |||
Steve Jellinek Acting | January 21, 1981 – January 25, 1981 | Ronald Reagan | ||
Walter Barber Jr. Acting | January 25, 1981 – May 19, 1981 | |||
Anne Gorsuch Burford | May 20, 1981 – March 9, 1983 | |||
Lee Verstandig Acting | March 10, 1983 – May 17, 1983 | |||
William Ruckelshaus | May 18, 1983 – January 4, 1985 | |||
Lee M. Thomas | January 4, 1985 – February 8, 1985 | |||
February 8, 1985 – January 20, 1989 | ||||
John Moore Acting | January 20, 1989 – February 6, 1989 | George H. W. Bush | ||
William K. Reilly | February 6, 1989 – January 20, 1993 | |||
W. Michael McCabe Acting | January 20, 1993 – January 31, 1993 | Bill Clinton | ||
Carol Browner | January 31, 1993 – January 20, 2001 | |||
Christine Todd Whitman | January 31, 2001 – June 27, 2003 | George W. Bush | ||
Linda Fisher Acting | June 27, 2003 – July 14, 2003 | |||
Marianne Lamont Horinko Acting | July 14, 2003 – November 5, 2003 | |||
Mike Leavitt | November 6, 2003 – January 26, 2005 | |||
Stephen L. Johnson | January 26, 2005 – May 2, 2005 | |||
May 2, 2005 – January 20, 2009 | ||||
Granta Nakayama Acting | January 20, 2009 – January 21, 2009 | Barack Obama | ||
Mike Shapiro Acting | January 21, 2009 – January 23, 2009 | |||
Lisa P. Jackson | January 23, 2009 – February 15, 2013 | |||
Bob Perciasepe Acting | February 15, 2013 – July 18, 2013 | |||
Gina McCarthy | July 18, 2013 – January 20, 2017 | |||
Catherine McCabe Acting | January 20, 2017 – February 17, 2017 | Donald Trump | ||
Scott Pruitt | February 17, 2017 – July 9, 2018 | |||
Andrew R. Wheeler | July 9, 2018 – February 28, 2019 | |||
February 28, 2019 – January 20, 2021 | ||||
Charlotte Bertrand Acting [lower-alpha 1] | January 20, 2021 | Joe Biden | ||
Jane Nishida Acting | January 20, 2021 – March 11, 2021 | |||
Michael S. Regan | March 11, 2021 – present |
Acting administrators usually assume the office in the interim period between the resignation of a previous administrator and the confirmation of his or her successor, including during the transition period between two presidential administrations, before the successor has been nominated and confirmed. Acting administrators come from within the EPA and usually hold an office that is subject to Senate confirmation before becoming the acting administrator. Linda Fisher and Stephen L. Johnson had served as Deputy Administrator when they became acting administrator. Marianne Lamont Horinko was an assistant administrator at the time. They are not subject to Senate confirmation to serve as the acting administrator, though to continue to serve as a full-fledged administrator (as in the case of Lee M. Thomas or Stephen L. Johnson), they must be confirmed by the Senate.
The line of succession for the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency is as follows: [4]
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is an independent agency of the United States government tasked with environmental protection matters. President Richard Nixon proposed the establishment of EPA on July 9, 1970; it began operation on December 2, 1970, after Nixon signed an executive order. The order establishing the EPA was ratified by committee hearings in the House and Senate.
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Carol Martha Browner is an American lawyer, environmentalist, and businesswoman, who served as director of the White House Office of Energy and Climate Change Policy in the Obama administration from 2009 to 2011. Browner previously served as Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) during the Clinton administration from 1993 to 2001. She currently works as a Senior Counselor at Albright Stonebridge Group, a global business strategy firm.
Stephen Lee Johnson is an American politician who served as the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under President George W. Bush during the second term of his administration. He has received the Presidential Rank Award, the highest award that can be given to a civilian federal employee.
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Michael Stanley Regan is an American environmental regulator. He has been serving as the 16th administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency since March 11, 2021. He is the first African American man to serve in the role.
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