The US Senate on Wednesday voted to confirm Michael Regan as President Joe Biden’s pick to lead the Environmental Protection Agency.
With a bipartisan confirmation vote of 66 to 34, Regan will become the first Black man to lead the EPA in the agency’s 50-year history.
Mr Regan will join an administration that has pledged aggressive action on tackling the climate crisis, which the Donald Trump era failed to acknowledge.
Regan has been serving as the secretary of North Carolina’s Department of Environmental Quality having previously led the Environmental Defense Fund’s efforts to combat the impacts of the climate crisis and air pollution and also worked at the EPA during the Clinton and Bush administrations.
At the helm of the nation’s top environmental agency, Regan is now set to play a major role in the Biden administration’s climate efforts.
Biden issued a series of executive actions on the climate crisis within his first weeks in office, undertaking a “whole of government” approach to reducing the country’s carbon emissions, spurring job growth and fighting environmental injustices.
During his Senate nomination hearing in February, Regan pledged to “move with a sense of urgency” to address the climate crisis.
“Our priorities for the environment are clear: we will restore the role of science and transparency at EPA. We will support dedicated and talented career officials. We will move with a sense of urgency on climate change, and we will stand up for environmental justice and equity,” he said.
Regan also reflected during the hearing on his environmental career — which began with an environmental science degree and an internship at the agency he’s now tasked with leading.
“I knew I wanted to find a way to serve, and that led to my first summer internship at EPA. I spent nearly ten years at EPA under presidents of both parties,” Regan told the Senate panel.
“It’s an honour of a lifetime to be invited back,” he added.
