Biden Taps Environmental Law Expert Brenda Mallory to Head White House Council on Environmental Quality

by Brady Dennis (Washington Post) President-elect Joe Biden has chosen Brenda Mallory, a longtime expert in environmental law and regulation, to head the White House’s Council on Environmental Quality, according to several people familiar with the decision who spoke anonymously because the appointment has not been publicly announced.

Biden has tapped Gina McCarthy, who ran the Environmental Protection Agency under Obama and now leads a major advocacy group, to coordinate the new administration’s domestic climate agenda. He has named former secretary of state John F. Kerry as McCarthy’s counterpart, focusing on international climate policy. And he plans to nominate former Michigan governor Jennifer Granholm, a strong proponent for zero-emissions vehicles, as energy secretary.

Even Cabinet picks that traditionally don’t focus heavily on the environment — including Treasury Secretary nominee Janet Yellen, Transportation Secretary nominee Pete Buttigieg and National Economic Council director Brian Deese — have called for the government to prioritize lowering the nation’s emissions.

Mallory, 64, a graduate of Yale University and Columbia Law School, has spent decades working on environmental issues both inside and outside of government, and that experience is a major reason Biden chose her for the role — along with the fact that she would represent a historic choice as the first African American to head the office, said those familiar with his thinking.

“She is committed to advancing environmental justice, which is why the president sees her as uniquely qualified to run CEQ,” said one of those people.

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Mallory served as general counsel for the CEQ under Obama ....

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Before taking that White House role, Mallory spent years as a top legal official at the Environmental Protection Agency. READ MORE

Biden picks former EPA chief Gina McCarthy as White House climate czar: McCarthy heads the Natural Resources Defense Council, which has sued the Trump administration more than 100 times (Washington Post)