The White House’s mass exodus has started impacting Biden’s closest advisers, who are seeking to leave the administration ahead of the midterm elections.
Biden’s top climate adviser, Gina McCarthy, is leaving the White House in mid-September after crafting the largest-ever US law to tackle so-called climate change.
Nearly all the actions of Biden regarding climate change were inspired by McCarthy’s input. She is considered as one of the top liberal climate bureaucrats in the country.
Biden’s Climate Czar Leaves the White House
Biden was soon expected to bring in new climate regulations and executive actions to promote his climate agenda without relying on Congress.
Though McCarthy’s departure is likely to be a significant setback for the president, who was relying heavily on the adviser for his climate actions.
Top WH climate official Gina McCarthy is set to leave her post in the coming weeks, after Dems passed major climate legislation. Worth noting she stayed on longer than expected, in part because of the climate bill. https://t.co/M6lGVsxmmK
— Ella Nilsen (@ella_nilsen) September 2, 2022
Now, McCarthy’s deputy, Ali Zaidi, will be the head of the Climate Policy Office of the White House. Likewise, John Podesta, the former White House chief of staff, will join the White House as an adviser on clean energy implementation mechanisms.
Both Zaidi and Podesta previously worked on the White House’s climate team during the Obama administration.
Meanwhile, liberal watchdogs are backing the new climate team of the White House. According to the CEO of the Center for American Progress, Patrick Gaspard, no one can fight climate change better than John Podesta.
Similarly, the president of the League of Conservation Voters, Gene Karpinski, expressed hope that Zaidi will continue McCarthy’s work.
🚨ALARMING NEWS🚨
With the departure of Gina McCarthy, Biden's new Domestic Climate Advisor is Ali Zaidi.
Zaidi represented several top oil and coal companies while working at the notoriously right-wing law firm Kirkland & Ellis.https://t.co/IFLzJswqrj
— Revolving Door Project (@revolvingdoorDC) September 2, 2022
McCarthy Became the Face of Biden’s Climate Agenda
McCarthy served as the head of the Environmental Protection Agency under Obama and led the nationwide efforts to impose liberal climate agenda on Americans.
She also interacted directly with moderate Democratic Senator Joe Manchin and tried to convince him to back Biden’s landmark climate agenda.
Under McCarthy’s guidance, Biden announced too ambitious climate actions that are unlikely to be actualized in real life.
For instance, the president claimed he will bring greenhouse gasses below the levels of 2005 by the end of 2030. This is an ambitious, yet unrealistic, goal since the modern-day economy heavily relies on the consumption of fossil fuels.
Apart from that, Biden’s decision to rejoin the Paris Climate Accord after coming to power was also approved by McCarthy.
Some media outlets reported that Biden viewed McCarthy as the champion of climate policy, due to her experience of working in different capacities in the field throughout her career.
Reportedly, McCarthy had deep ties with bureaucrats and public policy officials, which helped her propose new climate policy changes to the president.
The news of McCarthy’s departure started making headlines even earlier this year. Previously, it was widely understood she would leave the Biden administration in May, but McCarthy herself denounced this news.
In April, McCarthy claimed she was not leaving her role as the climate adviser, adding she would continue helping Biden to implement his climate agenda in time to come.
This article appeared in The State Today and has been published here with permission.
