Gina McCarthy

Regina McCarthy (born May 3, 1954) is an American air quality expert who served as the first White House national climate advisor from 2021 to 2022.

Born in Brighton, Boston, on May 3, 1954, McCarthy was raised in Dorchester and Canton, Massachusetts.

She has Irish ancestry, and grew up in a working-class family.

She graduated from the University of Massachusetts Boston in 1976 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Social Anthropology.

McCarthy started her health and environment career in 1980, serving as the city of Canton's health agent.

She later attended Tufts University, where she received a Master of Science combining Environmental Health Engineering with Planning and Policy in 1981.

In 1985, Governor Dukakis tapped her to serve on a state hazardous waste safety council.

She held several top positions in the civil service of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, including undersecretary for policy for Massachusetts Executive Office of Environmental Affairs from 1999 to 2003 and Deputy Secretary of the Massachusetts Office of Commonwealth Development from 2003 to 2004.

McCarthy has worked on environmental issues at the state and local levels and has developed policies on economic growth, energy, transportation and the environment.

She has served as environmental adviser to five Massachusetts governors, including former Governor Mitt Romney.

She served as commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection from 2004 to 2009 before joining the EPA in 2009.

On November 10, 2004, Connecticut governor Jodi Rell appointed McCarthy as commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection.

In that role she developed and implemented the first regional policy to trade carbon credits to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from power plants.

She stepped down in 2009 to join the Obama administration.

On March 16, 2009, President Barack Obama nominated McCarthy to serve as assistant administrator for the EPA's Office of Air and Radiation.

She was confirmed by the Senate on June 2, 2009, and served until her confirmation as EPA administrator in 2013.

She previously served as the thirteenth Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency from 2013 to 2017.

A Massachusetts native, McCarthy holds degrees from the University of Massachusetts Boston and Tufts University.

She was a civil servant in the Massachusetts state government, holding various environmental roles and serving as an environmental advisor to the Governor of Massachusetts.

On March 4, 2013, President Barack Obama nominated McCarthy to replace Lisa Jackson as EPA administrator.

Confirmation hearings started on April 11, 2013.

On July 18, 2013, she was confirmed after a record 136-day confirmation process, becoming the face of Obama's global warming and climate change initiative.

On March 4, 2013, Obama nominated McCarthy to replace Lisa Jackson as EPA administrator.

According to some observers, Obama's selection of McCarthy confirmed his seriousness about battling climate change.

Daniel Fiorino, director of the Center for Environmental Policy at American University, said: "Her nomination signals that the president really wants to deliver on his State of the Union objectives to take serious action on climate change."

Regarding speculation that her appointment would affect Obama's decision on the Keystone XL Pipeline, Fiorino stated that this wouldn't affect the dynamics of the Keystone decision significantly as other considerations are paramount, but added, "She knows air and climate issues very well and she's a very strong environmentalist."

The EPA is one of the federal agencies that advised the Obama administration on the proposed pipeline.

Confirmation hearings started April 11, 2013.

After the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works approved McCarthy's nomination in a vote along party lines on May 16, the nomination was stalled for a month on the Senate floor by John Barrasso of Wyoming.

In the interim, Bob Perciasepe served as the EPA's acting administrator.

David Vitter, the ranking Republican on the committee, posed 600 of a total 1,100 questions to McCarthy.

The committee Republicans demanded responses from McCarthy on five "transparency requests."

The delayed nomination resulted in the longest period that the agency was without a leader.

Christine Todd Whitman, a former Republican governor of New Jersey and EPA administrator under President George W. Bush, stated: "It's not about [McCarthy], it's about the agency... Republicans lost the [presidential] election and they have to realize that this is the president's choice of nominee. They can go after the president, but Gina McCarthy should get an up-and-down vote."

On July 18, 2013, the Senate confirmed McCarthy as the thirteenth Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency by a vote of 59–40, largely along party lines.

On September 11, 2015, twenty-six U.S. representatives introduced a resolution impeaching McCarthy.

In early 2020, McCarthy became president and CEO of the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC).

On December 18, 2020, President-elect Joe Biden announced that he would appoint McCarthy as the first White House national climate advisor, where she would advise Biden on domestic climate change policy and lead the White House Office of Domestic Climate Policy.

As a presidential appointee, she joined his administration on January 20, 2021.

McCarthy stepped down from her role on September 16, 2022.