The United States National Security Council (NSC) is the principal forum used by the president of the United States for consideration of national security, military, and foreign policy matters. Based in the White House, it is part of the Executive Office of the President of the United States, and composed of senior national security advisors and Cabinet officials.
John David Podesta Jr. is an American political consultant who has been serving as Senior Advisor to the President for International Climate Policy since 2024, having previously served as the Senior Advisor to the President for Clean Energy Innovation and Implementation from 2022 to 2024. Podesta previously served as White House chief of staff to President Bill Clinton from 1998 to 2001 and counselor to President Barack Obama from 2014 to 2015. Before that, he served in the Clinton administration as White House staff secretary from 1993 to 1995 and White House deputy chief of staff for operations from 1997 to 1998.
The Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) is a department of the United States government, part of the Executive Office of the President (EOP), established by United States Congress on May 11, 1976, with a broad mandate to advise the President on the effects of science and technology on domestic and international affairs.
The White House Office is an entity within the Executive Office of the President of the United States (EOP). The White House Office is headed by the White House chief of staff, who is also the head of the Executive Office of the President. The staff work for and report directly to the president, including West Wing staff and the president's senior advisers. Almost all of the White House Office staff are political appointees of the president, do not require Senate confirmation and can be dismissed at the discretion of the president.
Brian Christopher Deese is an American economic and political advisor who was the 13th director of the National Economic Council, serving under President Joe Biden.
The Presidential Task Force on the Auto Industry was an ad hoc group of United States cabinet-level and other officials that was formed by President Barack Obama to deal with the financial bailout of automakers Chrysler and General Motors.
The White House Office of Energy and Climate Change Policy was a government entity in the United States created in 2008 by President Barack Obama by Executive Order. It existed for over two years and was combined with another presidential office in April 2011. The office was created to coordinate administration policy on energy and global warming. Under the Biden administration, it has been succeeded by both the Office of Domestic Climate Policy and the Office on Clean Energy Innovation and Implementation.
Steven J. Ricchetti is an American political aide serving as a Counselor to the President under President Joe Biden. He was the chairman of Joe Biden's 2020 presidential campaign. Ricchetti previously served as Chief of Staff to Vice President Biden during the Obama administration and Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations under President Bill Clinton. In between stints in Democratic administrations, Ricchetti has worked as a lobbyist.
Energy Czar, and also later Climate Czar, is a nickname, using the political term "czar", for the person in the government of the United States given authority over energy or climate policy within the executive branch. This has never been the official title of any office, but has often been informally used to refer to various officials since the 1970s.
Senior Advisor to the President is a title used by high-ranking political advisors to the president of the United States. White House senior advisors are senior members of the White House Office. The title has been formally used since 1993.
Heather Renée Zichal(last name pronounced with long 'i') is an American executive, consultant, and political advisor who specializes in climate change and environmental policy.
Regina McCarthy is an American air quality expert who served as the first White House national climate advisor from 2021 to 2022. She previously served as the thirteenth Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency from 2013 to 2017.
Elizabeth D. Sherwood-Randall is an American national security and energy leader, public servant, educator, and author currently serving as the 11th United States Homeland Security Advisor to President Joe Biden since 2021. She previously served in the Clinton and Obama Administrations and held appointments at academic institutions and think tanks.
The presidential transition of Joe Biden began on November 7, 2020, and ended on January 20, 2021. Unlike previous presidential transitions, which normally take place during the roughly 10-week period between the election in the first week of November and the inauguration on January 20, Biden's presidential transition was shortened somewhat because the General Services Administration under the outgoing Trump administration did not recognize Biden as the "apparent winner" until November 23.
The United States special presidential envoy for climate is a position in the Executive Office of the President of the United States with authority over energy policy and climate policy within the executive branch. It is currently held by John Podesta.
Brenda Mallory is an American lawyer specializing in environmental law who is the current chair of the Council on Environmental Quality in the Biden administration. She previously served as director of regulatory policy at the Southern Environmental Law Center, and helped lead the Climate 21 Project.
Ali A. Zaidi is a Pakistani-American lawyer and political advisor serving as the second White House National Climate Advisor since 2022. He was the New York deputy secretary for energy and environment. Zaidi held climate policy positions in the Obama administration including United States Domestic Policy Council deputy director for energy policy and associate director for natural resources, energy, and science at the Office of Management and Budget. Zaidi was a policy aide to U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu. He served as the first White House Deputy National Climate Advisor from 2021 to 2022.
Kei Koizumi is an American policy advisor serving as Principal Deputy Director for Policy for the Office of Science and Technology Policy. He previously served as a senior advisor on science policy for the American Association for the Advancement of Science after serving as a senior advisor to the National Science and Technology Council under President Obama.
The White House Office on Clean Energy Innovation and Implementation is an office within the White House Office that is part of the Executive Office of the President of the United States. It was established on September 12, 2022, by Joe Biden via executive order in order to coordinate the policymaking process with respect to implementing the energy and infrastructure provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act and other essential initiatives. Biden selected John Podesta as Senior Advisor for Clean Energy Innovation and Implementation, which heads the office and reports directly to the President. In addition, the Senior Advisor for Clean Energy Innovation and Implementation chairs the National Climate Task Force, while the White House National Climate Advisor serves as Vice Chair.
Sonia Aggarwal is an engineer and policy advisor, who served as the Special Assistant to President Biden for Climate Policy, Innovation, and Deployment. Starting as a senior advisor when the President was inaugurated and serving through the end of 2022, her appointment was understood by the media to be a signal of the Biden administration's seriousness in pursuing ambitious clean energy policy. She is credited with helping to set the U.S. greenhouse gas emissions target of 50-52% reductions by 2030, as well as contributing heavily to the design of Build Back Better, which passed Congress as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act. She also co-chaired the Climate Innovation Working Group, alongside the Office of Management and Budget and the Office of Science and Technology Policy.
