According to multiple reports on Thursday (December 17), President-elect Joe Biden is expected to select Michael Regan to lead the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
If selected, he would be the first Black man to hold the role of Administrator of the EPA.
Regan currently serves as the secretary of the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality, which is the state’s version of the national EPA.
The 44-year-old worked for the EPA during the administrations of Bill Clinton and George W. Bush. Afterwards, he took up the role of southeast regional director at the Environmental Defense Fund.
Selecting Regan would mean Biden would have an environmental expert to take over the agency following Donald Trump’s controversial decisions pertaining to climate, and the environment.
Biden hopes to reverse Trump’s rollback on power plant regulations in order to achieve his promise to have the US at net-zero emissions by 2050.
His career has reportedly impressed the Biden team, with his leadership in leading the largest coal ash clean up, and environmental justice experience standing out, per The Hill.
Regan, a Goldsboro, North Carolina native, is also a HBCU graduate, receiving a bachelor’s degree in Earth and Environmental Science from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University. He also holds a master’s in Public Administration from George Washington University.
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