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.
| Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency | |
|---|---|
Seal of the Environmental Protection Agency | |
Incumbent since January 29, 2025Lee Zeldin | |
| Member of | Cabinet |
| Inaugural holder | William D. Ruckelshaus |
| Formation | 1970 |
| Website | www |
Lee Zeldin is the current administrator of the EPA.
Rank in the Cabinet
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.
List of administrators
The following persons served as Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency:
| No. | Officeholder | Term start | Term end | Refs. | President(s) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | William Ruckelshaus | December 4, 1970 | April 30, 1973 | Richard Nixon (1969–1974) | |||
– | Robert W. Fri Acting | April 30, 1973 | September 12, 1973 | ||||
2 | Russell E. Train | September 12, 1973 | January 20, 1977 | ||||
| Gerald Ford (1974–1977) | |||||||
– | John Quarles Jr. Acting | January 21, 1977 | March 6, 1977 | Jimmy Carter (1977–1981) | |||
3 | Douglas M. Costle | March 7, 1977 | January 20, 1981 | ||||
– | Steven Jellinek Acting | January 21, 1981 | January 25, 1981 | Ronald Reagan (1981–1989) | |||
– | Walter Barber Jr. Acting | January 25, 1981 | May 19, 1981 | ||||
4 | Anne Gorsuch Burford | May 20, 1981 | March 9, 1983 | ||||
– | Lee Verstandig Acting | March 10, 1983 | May 17, 1983 | ||||
5 | William Ruckelshaus | May 18, 1983 | January 4, 1985 | ||||
6 | 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 (1989–1993) | |||
7 | William K. Reilly | February 6, 1989 | January 20, 1993 | ||||
– | W. Michael McCabe Acting | January 20, 1993 | January 31, 1993 | Bill Clinton (1993–2001) | |||
8 | Carol Browner | January 31, 1993 | January 20, 2001 | ||||
– | W. Michael McCabe Acting | January 20, 2001 | January 31, 2001 | George W. Bush (2001–2009) | |||
9 | Christine Todd Whitman | January 31, 2001 | June 27, 2003 | ||||
– | Linda Fisher Acting | June 27, 2003 | July 11, 2003 | ||||
– | Stephen L. Johnson Acting | July 11, 2003 | July 14, 2003 | ||||
– | Marianne Lamont Horinko Acting | July 14, 2003 | November 6, 2003 | ||||
10 | Mike Leavitt | November 6, 2003 | January 26, 2005 | ||||
11 | 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 (2009–2017) | |||
– | Mike Shapiro Acting | January 21, 2009 | January 23, 2009 | ||||
12 | Lisa P. Jackson | January 23, 2009 | February 15, 2013 | ||||
– | Bob Perciasepe Acting | February 15, 2013 | July 18, 2013 | ||||
13 | Gina McCarthy | July 19, 2013 | January 20, 2017 | ||||
– | Catherine McCabe Acting | January 20, 2017 | February 17, 2017 | Donald Trump (2017–2021) | |||
14 | Scott Pruitt | February 17, 2017 | July 9, 2018 | ||||
15 | Andrew R. Wheeler | July 9, 2018 | February 28, 2019 | ||||
| February 28, 2019 | January 20, 2021 | ||||||
– | Charlotte Bertrand Acting | January 20, 2021 | January 20, 2021 | Joe Biden (2021–2025) | |||
– | Jane Nishida Acting | January 20, 2021 | March 11, 2021 | ||||
16 | Michael S. Regan | March 11, 2021 | December 31, 2024 | ||||
– | Jane Nishida Acting | January 1, 2025 | January 20, 2025 | ||||
– | Kimberly Patrick Acting | January 20, 2025 | January 20, 2025 | Donald Trump (2025–present) | |||
– | James Payne Acting | January 20, 2025 | January 29, 2025 | ||||
17 | Lee Zeldin | January 29, 2025 | present | ||||
Table notes:
- During the Nixon administration, Ruckelshaus left the EPA in 1973 to become the acting head of the FBI during the middle of the Watergate scandal. Ruckelshaus would later return a decade later to head the EPA during the Reagan administration.
List of deputy administrators
The following persons served as deputy administrator:
| No. | Officeholder | Term start | Term end | Refs. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Robert W. Fri | June 14, 1971 | April 29, 1973 | ||
| acting | John R. Quarles Jr. | April 29, 1973 | October 18, 1973 | ||
| 2 | October 19, 1973 | January 20, 1977 | |||
| 3 | Barbara Blum | March 7, 1977 | January 20, 1981 | ||
| 4 | John W. Hernandez Jr. | May 20, 1981 | March 25, 1983 | ||
| 5 | Alvin L. Alm | August 5, 1983 | May 9, 1985 | ||
| 6 | A. James Barnes | May 10, 1985 | August 14, 1988 | ||
| acting | John A. Moore | August 15, 1988 | January 20, 1989 | ||
| Vacant | January 20, 1989 | February 4, 1989 | |||
| acting | John A. Moore | February 5, 1989 | May 18, 1989 | ||
| 7 | F. Henry Habicht II | May 19, 1989 | January 20, 1993 | ||
| acting | Richard Morgenstern | January 21, 1993 | March 7, 1993 | ||
| acting | Jonathan Z. Cannon | March 8, 1993 | May 9, 1993 | ||
| 8 | Robert M. Sussman | May 10, 1993 | October 17, 1994 | ||
| 9 | Fred Hansen | October 18, 1994 | September 30, 1998 | ||
| acting | Peter D. Robertson | October 1, 1998 | December 7, 1999 | ||
| acting | W. Michael McCabe | December 8, 1999 | August 6, 2000 | ||
| 10 | August 6, 2000 | January 20, 2001 | |||
| Vacant | January 20, 2001 | May 31, 2001 | |||
| 11 | Linda Fisher | May 31, 2001 | June 27, 2003 | ||
| Vacant | June 28, 2003 | July 11, 2003 | |||
| acting | Stephen L. Johnson | July 11, 2003 | August 1, 2004 | ||
| 12 | August 1, 2004 | January 26, 2005 | |||
| Vacant | January 26, 2005 | August 8, 2005 | |||
| 13 | Marcus Peacock | August 8, 2005 | January 20, 2009 | ||
| Vacant | January 20, 2009 | February 4, 2009 | |||
| acting | Scott Fulton | February 4, 2009 | December 24, 2009 | ||
| 14 | Bob Perciasepe | December 24, 2009 | August 7, 2014 | ||
| acting | Lisa Feldt | August 8, 2014 | October 7, 2014 | ||
| acting | Stan Meiburg | October 7, 2014 | January 20, 2017 | ||
| acting | Mike Flynn | January 20, 2017 | April 3, 2018 | ||
| 15 | Andrew R. Wheeler | April 12, 2018 | July 7, 2019 | ||
| acting | Henry Darwin | July 9, 2019 | January 20, 2021 | ||
| Vacant | January 20, 2021 | April 28, 2021 | |||
| 16 | Janet McCabe | April 29, 2021 | October 4, 2024 | ||
| acting | Jane Nishida | October 5, 2024 | December 31, 2024 | ||
| acting | Dan Utech | January 1, 2025 | January 20, 2025 | ||
| acting | Gregg Treml | January 20, 2025 | January 29, 2025 | ||
| acting | Chad McIntosh | January 29, 2025 | June 16, 2025 | ||
| 17 | David Fotouhi | June 16, 2025 | present | ||
Acting administrators
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.
Line of succession
The line of succession for the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency is as follows:
- Deputy Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency
- General Counsel
- Assistant Administrator for the Office of Land and Emergency Management
- Assistant Administrator for the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention
- Assistant Administrator for the Office of Air and Radiation
- Assistant Administrator for the Office of Water
- Assistant Administrator for the Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance
- Chief Financial Officer
- Assistant Administrator for the Office of Research and Development
- Assistant Administrator for the Office of International and Tribal Affairs
- Assistant Administrator for the Office of Administration and Resources Management
- Assistant Administrator for the Office of Environmental Information
- Regional Administrator, Region 7 (Kansas City, Kansas)
- Principal Deputy General Counsel
- Principal Deputy Assistant Administrator for the Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance
- Deputy Regional Administrator, Region 2 (New York, New York)
- Deputy Regional Administrator, Region 5 (Chicago, Illinois)
See also
- White House Office of Energy and Climate Change Policy
- Presidential Task Force on the Auto Industry
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