President-elect Trump is reportedly looking at a handful of former Bush officials to head the Environmental Protection Agency.
At the top of the list is Jeff Holmstead, the longest serving EPA air chief who served under former President George W. Bush. He is currently a partner at the Bracewell law firm in Washington.
Reuters reported Tuesday that Holmstead is being considered along with Mike Catanzaro, who also served in the Bush EPA and currently lobbies for the CGCN Group.
“I think they are trying to find a mix of outsiders who want to see big changes made and experienced folks who know how the agency works and can help them make those changes,” an official who served under the Bush administration told Reuters. A venture capitalist by the name of Robert Grady, who worked in H.W. Bush’s administration is also on the shortlist. Earlier reports had Grady on the shortlist to head the energy department, citing documents obtained from the Trump transition team.
Holmstead, in a briefing the morning after the elections, said he would not advise Trump to spend time trying to exit the Paris climate deal, saying it is a non-binding agreement that would take time away from more pressing matters.
He echoed similar thoughts on the Paris deal and other policy issues facing a Republican administration in an
exclusive interview.
“If I were advising the new president, I would advise that it would be a mistake to try to take any action to pull out of Paris,” Holmstead told the Washington Examiner. “Paris is what it is. It is largely a political statement, and I don’t think there would be any reason either legal or political to try to withdraw from the treaty. You would be using up a lot of political capital on something that doesn’t matter very much.”
One of Trump’s priorities is to pull out of the climate deal.
