"As President Biden closes out his first year in office, he still has not nominated EPA’s top air official, a role that takes on even greater importance with climate legislation stalling on Capitol Hill.
Seven of Biden’s EPA nominees have been approved to fill leadership and policy posts at the agency. Another four nominees await confirmation votes on the Senate floor. But the president has not yet announced his pick for EPA assistant administrator for air and radiation.
"If you look at their high-priority issues, many of them deal with the air office," Jeff Holmstead, who served as EPA’s air assistant administrator during the George W. Bush administration, told E&E News. "For those on the outside watching, it has been puzzling."
Biden is lagging behind his predecessors in filling this position. Several presidents, including Trump, Obama and George W. Bush, had their nominee for the role confirmed within their first year in office."
Kevin Bogardus and Sean Reilly report for E&E News December 22, 2021.
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