Veteran Strategist Podesta Joins Biden in Climate Team Shakeup

(Bloomberg) -- John Podesta, a veteran Democratic strategist who worked outside the White House to drive support for President Joe Biden’s climate agenda, is joining the administration to spearhead the government’s implementation of the sweeping clean energy law enacted last month.

The move is one of several changes to Biden’s team of top climate aides, with national White House Climate Advisor Gina McCarthy stepping down Sept. 16, and her current deputy, Ali Zaidi, set to take over the post. The changes, announced by the White House on Friday, come as the administration shifts its focus from advancing climate law on Capitol Hill to implementing environmental policy through federal agencies. 

“Under Gina McCarthy and Ali Zaidi’s leadership, my administration has taken the most aggressive action ever -- from historic legislation to bold executive actions -- to confront the climate crisis head-on,” Biden said in a statement. “The Inflation Reduction Act is the biggest step forward on clean energy and climate in history, and it paves the way for additional steps we will take to meet our clean energy and climate goals.”

Podesta, who previously advised former presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama and founded the liberal Center for American Progress, has most recently been working to advance environmental policy from outside the White House. That includes recent roles chairing the board of the ClimateWorks Foundation and serving on the board of the Climate Jobs National Resource Center. 

Podesta, who will serve as senior advisor to the president for clean energy innovation and implementation, will chair the president’s national climate task force. He will also oversee the federal government’s implementation of the new climate law, the White House said.

“His deep roots in climate and clean energy policy and his experience at senior levels of government mean we can truly hit the ground running to take advantage of the massive clean energy opportunity in front of us,” Biden said.

McCarthy, the former head of the Environmental Protection Agency during the Obama administration, has spent more than a year and a half coordinating Biden’s domestic climate agenda from the White House. 

McCarthy, 68, originally committed to stay in the newly created role for one year. She considered leaving earlier this year but chose to remain in the post while Congress advanced the climate-and-tax law, said one person familiar with the plan who asked not to be named discussing personnel matters. The measure includes a historic $370 billion in tax incentives and other programs to help fight climate change.

During her tenure in the Biden administration, the Boston native helped lead efforts to convince domestic automakers to increase the share of electric vehicles under production, implement new regulations targeting pollutants from air conditioners and refrigerants, and sell offshore wind power leases. She also helped oversee efforts stemming from the bipartisan infrastructure law enacted late last year that includes funding for upgrading the power grid, replacing lead pipes and building out a national network of electric vehicle chargers.

But recent months have also seen the White House place new emphasis on fossil fuels as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine spiked gasoline and home energy prices.

McCarthy, who served as the quarterback for Biden’s domestic climate policy, has repeatedly described the administration’s government-wide approach to the climate threat as especially urgent.

But some federal agency officials have described frustration that political concerns raised by McCarthy and the climate office have sometimes appeared to trump policy moves. For instance, a report on oil leasing on federal lands was scaled back in response to concerns raised by the climate office, said one person familiar with the matter.

Rulemaking efforts also have been stalled by the office, said another person. And, as congressional leaders made a final push on climate legislation this year, some potentially controversial decisions were delayed in a bid to preserve possible negotiations with Senator Joe Manchin, a key Democrat from coal- and gas-rich West Virginia. 

Manchin ultimately negotiated and then voted for the climate-and-tax measure that’s one of Biden’s top legislative accomplishments.

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