David Fotouhi

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David Fotouhi
David Fotouhi, EPA Deputy Administrator.jpg
Official portrait, 2025
18th Deputy Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency
Incumbent
Assumed office
June 16, 2025

David Fotouhi is an American lawyer, activist, and government official serving as Deputy Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) since June 2025. [1] He previously worked in the first Donald Trump administration where he helped to roll back environmental policies and was a partner in environmental litigation at Gibson Dunn where he represented companies in lawsuits against the EPA. [2]

Career

Fotouhi was acting general counsel in the Environmental Protection Agency during the first Donald Trump administration. [3] Fotouhi helped the administration in rolling back climate regulations and water protections. [2]

Fotouhi was a partner in environmental litigation at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP. He is also a member of the conservative legal organization The Federalist Society, and is a Republican. [4] During his time at Gibson, Dunn, Fotouhi challenged the EPA's March 2024 ban on asbestos, a known carcinogen. In a brief filed on behalf of a group of car companies, Fotouhi wrote that the "EPA failed to demonstrate that chrysotile asbestos presents an unreasonable risk of injury." [2] He also represented International Paper in relation to its use of PFAS ("forever chemicals"), as well as represented a group of businesses in Washington state that sued the EPA over its restrictions on PCB contamination in water. [2]

Fotouhi was nominated by Donald Trump to be Deputy Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. He was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on June 10, 2025, in a 53–41 party-line vote. [5] Six days later, Fotouhi was sworn in on June 16, 2025. [6]

References

  1. ↑ US EPA, OA (June 10, 2025). "Senate Confirms David Fotouhi as President Trump's EPA Deputy Administrator". www.epa.gov. Retrieved July 20, 2025.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Lerner, Sharon (January 22, 2025). "Donald Trump's No. 2 Pick for the EPA Represented Companies Accused of Pollution Harm". ProPublica. Archived from the original on August 9, 2025. Retrieved August 9, 2025.
  3. ↑ Bogardus, Kevin (January 13, 2025). "Trump's EPA deputy pick is a familiar face in HQ". E&E News by POLITICO.
  4. ↑ "David Fotouhi". The Federalist Society. July 6, 2022. Archived from the original on April 18, 2025. Retrieved July 20, 2025.
  5. ↑ "U.S. Senate: U.S. Senate Roll Call Votes 119th Congress - 1st Session". www.senate.gov. Retrieved July 20, 2025.
  6. ↑ Friedman, Lisa; Tabuchi, Hiroko; Davenport, Coral (January 25, 2025). "Trump Stocks E.P.A. With Oil, Gas and Chemical Lobbyists". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved March 5, 2025.
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