# Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency

The administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency is the head of the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and is thus responsible for enforcing the nation's Clean Air and Clean Water Acts, as well as numerous other environmental statutes. The administrator is nominated by the president of the United States and must be confirmed by a vote of the Senate.
Lee Zeldin is the current administrator of the EPA.

## Rank in the Cabinet

Since the Clinton administration, the EPA administrator has been accorded cabinet rank by the president. The administrator of the EPA is equivalent to the position of minister of the environment in other countries. There have been various proposals to make the EPA a full executive department.

## List of administrators

| No. | Officeholder | Term Start | Term End | President(s) |
| 1 | William Ruckelshaus | December 4, 1970 | April 30, 1973 | Richard Nixon (1969–1974) |
| – | Robert W. Fri Acting | April 30, 1973 | September 12, 1973 | Richard Nixon (1969–1974) |
| 2 | Russell E. Train | September 12, 1973 | January 20, 1977 | Richard Nixon (1969–1974) |
| 2 | Russell E. Train | September 12, 1973 | January 20, 1977 | Gerald Ford (1974–1977) |
| – | John Quarles Jr. Acting | January 21, 1977 | March 6, 1977 | Jimmy Carter (1977–1981) |
| 3 | Douglas M. Costle | March 7, 1977 | January 20, 1981 | Jimmy Carter (1977–1981) |
| – | Steven Jellinek Acting | January 21, 1981 | January 25, 1981 | Ronald Reagan (1981–1989) |
| – | Walter Barber Jr. Acting | January 25, 1981 | May 19, 1981 | Ronald Reagan (1981–1989) |
| 4 | Anne Gorsuch Burford | May 20, 1981 | March 9, 1983 | Ronald Reagan (1981–1989) |
| – | Lee Verstandig Acting | March 10, 1983 | May 17, 1983 | Ronald Reagan (1981–1989) |
| 5 | William Ruckelshaus | May 18, 1983 | January 4, 1985 | Ronald Reagan (1981–1989) |
| 6 | Lee M. Thomas | January 4, 1985 | February 8, 1985 | Ronald Reagan (1981–1989) |
| 6 | Lee M. Thomas | February 8, 1985 | January 20, 1989 | Ronald Reagan (1981–1989) |
| – | John Moore Acting | January 20, 1989 | February 6, 1989 | George H. W. Bush (1989–1993) |
| 7 | William K. Reilly | February 6, 1989 | January 20, 1993 | George H. W. Bush (1989–1993) |
| – | W. Michael McCabe Acting | January 20, 1993 | January 31, 1993 | Bill Clinton (1993–2001) |
| 8 | Carol Browner | January 31, 1993 | January 20, 2001 | Bill Clinton (1993–2001) |
| 9 | Christine Todd Whitman | January 31, 2001 | June 27, 2003 | George W. Bush (2001–2009) |
| – | Linda Fisher Acting | June 27, 2003 | July 14, 2003 | George W. Bush (2001–2009) |
| – | Marianne Lamont Horinko Acting | July 14, 2003 | November 5, 2003 | George W. Bush (2001–2009) |
| 10 | Mike Leavitt | November 6, 2003 | January 26, 2005 | George W. Bush (2001–2009) |
| 11 | Stephen L. Johnson | January 26, 2005 | May 2, 2005 | George W. Bush (2001–2009) |
| 11 | Stephen L. Johnson | May 2, 2005 | January 20, 2009 | George W. Bush (2001–2009) |
| – | Granta Nakayama Acting | January 20, 2009 | January 21, 2009 | Barack Obama (2009–2017) |
| – | Mike Shapiro Acting | January 21, 2009 | January 23, 2009 | Barack Obama (2009–2017) |
| 12 | Lisa P. Jackson | January 23, 2009 | February 15, 2013 | Barack Obama (2009–2017) |
| – | Bob Perciasepe Acting | February 15, 2013 | July 18, 2013 | Barack Obama (2009–2017) |
| 13 | Gina McCarthy | July 18, 2013 | January 20, 2017 | Barack Obama (2009–2017) |
| – | Catherine McCabe Acting | January 20, 2017 | February 17, 2017 | Donald Trump (2017–2021) |
| 14 | Scott Pruitt | February 17, 2017 | July 9, 2018 | Donald Trump (2017–2021) |
| 15 | Andrew R. Wheeler | July 9, 2018 | February 28, 2019 | Donald Trump (2017–2021) |
| 15 | Andrew R. Wheeler | February 28, 2019 | January 20, 2021 | Donald Trump (2017–2021) |
| – | Charlotte Bertrand Acting | January 20, 2021 | January 20, 2021 | Joe Biden (2021–2025) |
| – | Jane Nishida Acting | January 20, 2021 | March 11, 2021 | Joe Biden (2021–2025) |
| 16 | Michael S. Regan | March 11, 2021 | December 31, 2024 | Joe Biden (2021–2025) |
| – | Jane Nishida Acting | January 1, 2025 | January 20, 2025 | Joe Biden (2021–2025) |
| – | James Payne Acting | January 20, 2025 | January 29, 2025 | Donald Trump (2025–present) |
| 17 | Lee Zeldin | January 29, 2025 | present | Donald Trump (2025–present) |
* ↑ Served as Acting Administrator in her capacity as Assistant Administrator for the Office of Water for a few hours following the conclusion of the term Andrew R. Wheeler at noon on January 20, 2021. President Joe Biden signed an executive order naming principal deputy assistant head of the Office of International and Tribal Affairs Jane Nishida as acting Administrator later that day.

## List of deputy administrators

* Robert W. Fri June 14, 1971 – April 29, 1973
* John R. Quarles Jr. April 29, 1973 – January 20, 1977
* Barbara Blum March 7, 1977 – January 20, 1981
* John W. Hernandez Jr. May 20, 1981 – March 25, 1983
* Alvin L. Alm August 5, 1983 – May 9, 1985
* A. James Barnes May 10, 1985 – August 14, 1988
* John A. Moore (Acting) August 15, 1988 – January 20, 1989 (Acting) February 5, 1989 – May 18, 1989
* F. Henry Habicht II May 19, 1989 – January 20, 1993
* Jonathan Z. Cannon (Acting) March 8, 1993 – May 9, 1993
* Robert M. Sussman May 10, 1993 – October 17, 1994
* Fred Hansen October 18, 1994 – September 30, 1998
* Peter D. Robertson (Acting) October 1, 1998 – December 7, 1999
* W. Michael McCabe (Acting) December 8, 1999 – August 5, 2000 August 6, 2000 – January 19, 2001
* Linda Fisher May 31, 2001 – June 27, 2003
* Stephen L. Johnson (Acting) July 12, 2003 – August 1, 2004 August 2, 2004 – January 26, 2005
* Marcus Peacock August 8, 2005 – January 20, 2009
* Scott Fulton February 4, 2009 – December 24, 2009
* Bob Perciasepe December 24, 2009 – August 8, 2014
* Lisa Feldt (Acting) August 8, 2014 – October 7, 2014
* Stan Meiburg (Acting) October 7, 2014 – January 20, 2017
* Mike Flynn January 20, 2017 – April 3, 2018
* Andrew R. Wheeler April 20, 2018 – February 28, 2019
* Henry Darwin July 9, 2018 – September 2019
* Janet McCabe April 29, 2021 – October 4, 2024
* Jane Nishida (Acting) October 5, 2024 - December 31, 2024
* Dan Utech (Acting) January 1, 2025 - January 20, 2025
* Chad MacIntosh (Acting) January 20, 2025 - Present
* David Fotouhi March 2025

## Acting administrators

Acting administrators usually assume the office in the interim period between the resignation of a previous administrator and the confirmation of his or her successor, including during the transition period between two presidential administrations, before the successor has been nominated and confirmed. Acting administrators come from within the EPA and usually hold an office that is subject to Senate confirmation before becoming the acting administrator. Linda Fisher and Stephen L. Johnson had served as Deputy Administrator when they became acting administrator. Marianne Lamont Horinko was an assistant administrator at the time. They are not subject to Senate confirmation to serve as the acting administrator, though to continue to serve as a full-fledged administrator (as in the case of Lee M. Thomas or Stephen L. Johnson), they must be confirmed by the Senate.

## Line of succession

The line of succession for the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency is as follows:
* Deputy Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency
* General Counsel
* Assistant Administrator for the Office of Land and Emergency Management
* Assistant Administrator for the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention
* Assistant Administrator for the Office of Air and Radiation
* Assistant Administrator for the Office of Water
* Assistant Administrator for the Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance
* Chief Financial Officer
* Assistant Administrator for the Office of Research and Development
* Assistant Administrator for the Office of International and Tribal Affairs
* Assistant Administrator for the Office of Administration and Resources Management
* Assistant Administrator for the Office of Environmental Information
* Regional Administrator, Region 7 (Kansas City, Kansas)
* Principal Deputy General Counsel
* Principal Deputy Assistant Administrator for the Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance
* Deputy Regional Administrator, Region 2 (New York, New York)
* Deputy Regional Administrator, Region 5 (Chicago, Illinois)