White House Climate Counselor Gina McCarthy plans to step down, according to two sources familiar with the debate, which is likely to end a mandate marked by ambitious emissions targets but a failure to secure major US legislation to reduce carbon emissions. .
McCarthy, 67, had originally planned to stay in the White House for about a year, hoping to help federal agencies implement President Joe Biden’s ambitious climate legislation, but that effort stalled amid intra-party opposition from key Democratic senators, including Joe Manchin.
McCarthy has already delayed his departure and told a Reuters source that he plans to leave next month.
White House spokesman Vedant Patel said Thursday: “This is not true and there are no such plans in progress and no personal messages to be made.”
“Gina and her entire team continue to be laser-focused on meeting President Biden’s clean energy agenda,” he said in an email.
Numerous news outlets, including the New York Times and the Washington Post, reported that McCarthy told confidants she planned to leave her job in the coming months, with the Times saying she was “disappointed by the slow pace of climate progress. “
A December Politico poll found that 80 percent of Americans who identify as left-wing say the Biden administration is doing too little to tackle climate change. McCarthy responded publicly to this sentiment in February, Politico reported, saying: “We understand people’s frustration. Do we all want to run faster and faster? Yes, we would. “
The White House did not immediately respond to a request from the Guardian for comment on reports of McCarthy’s plans.
McCarthy, a former Environmental Protection Agency administrator during the Obama administration, was selected by Biden for a new role in coordinating domestic climate policy at the White House. She serves as a domestic counterpart to John Kerry, whom Biden has appointed as his special international envoy for climate change.
Her deputy, Ali Zaidi, who was an adviser on climate policy at the Obama White House, is considered a likely deputy, according to the Washington Post.
Biden has taken office with an ambitious climate program linked to a $ 555 billion plan to move to cleaner energy in all aspects of American life. Before these policies stopped, McCarthy, a regulatory expert, would be tasked with implementing the plan in a number of agencies.
Biden had promised to disconnect the nation from fossil fuels, but now turns out to be looking for ways to increase global supplies of oil and other carbon-rich energy products amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and high gas prices that advisers say hurt. of his position among the electorate.
McCarthy’s position was a key demand from the Liberal Democratic Party and an illustration of Biden’s commitment to the cause. Its irreplaceability can be seen as a retreat from the ecological community.
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