EPA Administrator Jackson Stepping Down
She announced she will leave the administration soon after President Obama's State of the Union speech.
EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson announced Dec. 27 she plans to step down in January following President Obama's State of the Union speech. Cabinet- and federal department-level chiefs often depart at the end of a re-elected president's first term, so the announcement is not a huge surprise. In a statement posted by EPA, Jackson thanked the president for nominating her four years ago and mentioned agency actions during her tenure on air pollution and climate change.
"So, I will leave the EPA confident the ship is sailing in the right direction, and ready in my own life for new challenges, time with my family and new opportunities to make a difference," Jackson wrote. The news was not yet posted on her Twitter page, http://twitter.com/lisapjackson, as of 12:30 p.m. EST.
The president's statement, posted on www.whitehouse.gov, said this: "Over the last four years, Lisa Jackson has shown an unwavering commitment to the health of our families and our children. Under her leadership, the EPA has taken sensible and important steps to protect the air we breathe and the water we drink, including implementing the first national standard for harmful mercury pollution, taking important action to combat climate change under the Clean Air Act, and playing a key role in establishing historic fuel economy standards that will save the average American family thousands of dollars at the pump, while also slashing carbon pollution. Lisa has been an important part of my team, and I want to thank her for her service in my Administration and her tireless efforts to benefit the American people. I wish her all the best wherever her future takes her."
The Washington Post's report on her announcement says two "leading candidates" to replace Jackson are EPA Deputy Administrator Bob Perciasepe and Gina McCarthy, who leads EPA's air and radiation office.