WASHINGTON — White House nationwide climate adviser Gina McCarthy is expected to step down subsequent month, an individual acquainted with her resolution confirmed.
McCarthy had initially expected to wrap up her service by the tip of February, however she agreed to keep a bit longer, the individual mentioned. She is expected to return to her native Boston.
In a tweet late Thursday, McCarthy pushed again towards the stories.
“Reports that I have resigned from my position as President Biden’s National Climate Advisor are simply inaccurate. We’ve made great progress these past 14 months, but we have much more work to do — and I remain excited about the opportunities ahead,” she mentioned.
McCarthy can be leaving because the Biden administration confronts the fact that its prospects for main federal motion on climate change — which simply months in the past appeared very promising — have nearly solely evaporated.
The White House earlier Thursday didn’t verify that McCarthy plans to depart.
“We have no personnel announcements to make,” White House spokesman Vedant Patel mentioned. “Gina and her entire team continue to be laser-focused on delivering on President Biden’s clean energy agenda.”
Reuters first reported that McCarthy can be stepping down.
McCarthy, who was the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency in the Obama administration, had been expected to oversee the implementation of a historic half-trillion-dollar-plus spending package deal on climate change included in President Joe Biden’s Build Back Better framework, which collapsed after negotiations with Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., faltered.
The White House and Senate Democrats have engaged in casual talks about reviving the climate provisions as a part of a extra restricted package deal or as a standalone measure. But time is shortly working out earlier than the midterm elections make it politically not possible to get main laws by means of Congress.
McCarthy’s departure would carefully observe the departures of different top-tier administration officers.
In February, the highest science adviser to the White House, Eric Lander, resigned underneath stress, saying in a resignation letter that he had been “demeaning” to his subordinates.
White House Covid-19 response coordinator Jeff Zients introduced final month that he would step down this month. Vice President Kamala Harris’ nationwide safety adviser, Nancy McEldowney, additionally introduced final month that she was stepping down.
It’s unclear who would possibly change McCarthy. A high contender is Ali Zaidi, McCarthy’s deputy, who additionally held a climate and vitality place in the Obama White House.
Zoë Richards contributed.