Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency

Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency
Seal of the Environmental Protection Agency
Incumbent Lee Zeldin since January 29, 2025
Member of	Cabinet
Inaugural holder	William D. Ruckelshaus
Formation	1970
Website	www.epa.gov

The Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency is the head of the United States federal government's Environmental Protection Agency. It is responsible for enforcing the nation's Clean Air and Clean Water Acts, as well as many other environmental statutes.

How are they nominated?

The Administrator is nominated by the President of the United States and must be confirmed by a vote of the Senate. The office of Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency was created in 1970 in legislation that created the Environmental Protection Agency.

List of administrators

Officeholder		Term	President(s)
	William Ruckelshaus	December 4, 1970 – April 30, 1973		Richard Nixon
	Robert W. Fri Acting	April 30, 1973 – September 12, 1973
	Russell E. Train	September 12, 1973 – January 20, 1977
				Gerald Ford
	John Quarles Jr. Acting	January 21, 1977 – March 6, 1977		Jimmy Carter
	Douglas M. Costle	March 7, 1977 – January 20, 1981
	Steve Jellinek Acting	January 21, 1981 – January 25, 1981		Ronald Reagan
	Walter Barber Jr. Acting	January 25, 1981 – May 19, 1981
	Anne Gorsuch Burford	May 20, 1981 – March 9, 1983
	Lee Verstandig Acting	March 10, 1983 – May 17, 1983
	William Ruckelshaus	May 18, 1983 – January 4, 1985
	Lee M. Thomas	January 4, 1985 – February 8, 1985
		February 8, 1985 – January 20, 1989
	John Moore Acting	January 20, 1989 – February 6, 1989		George H. W. Bush
	William K. Reilly	February 6, 1989 – January 20, 1993
	W. Michael McCabe Acting	January 20, 1993 – January 31, 1993		Bill Clinton
	Carol Browner	January 31, 1993 – January 20, 2001
	Christine Todd Whitman	January 31, 2001 – June 27, 2003		George W. Bush
	Linda Fisher Acting	June 27, 2003 – July 14, 2003
	Marianne Lamont Horinko Acting	July 14, 2003 – November 5, 2003
	Mike Leavitt	November 6, 2003 – January 26, 2005
	Stephen L. Johnson	January 26, 2005 – May 2, 2005
		May 2, 2005 – January 20, 2009
	Granta Nakayama Acting	January 20, 2009 – January 21, 2009		Barack Obama
	Mike Shapiro Acting	January 21, 2009 – January 23, 2009
	Lisa P. Jackson	January 23, 2009 – February 15, 2013
	Bob Perciasepe Acting	February 15, 2013 – July 18, 2013
	Gina McCarthy	July 18, 2013 – January 20, 2017
	Catherine McCabe Acting	January 20, 2017 – February 17, 2017		Donald Trump
	Scott Pruitt	February 17, 2017 – July 9, 2018
	Andrew R. Wheeler	July 9, 2018 – February 28, 2019
		February 28, 2019 – January 20, 2021
	Charlotte Bertrand Acting	January 20, 2021		Joe Biden
	Jane Nishida Acting	January 20, 2021 – March 11, 2021
	Michael S. Regan	March 11, 2021 – December 31, 2024
	Jane Nishida Acting	January 1, 2025 – January 20, 2025
	Kimberly Patrick Acting	January 20, 2025		Donald Trump
	James Payne Acting	January 20, 2025 – January 29, 2025
	Lee Zeldin	January 29, 2025 – present

List of former administrators of the environmental protection agency

As of September 2025, there are eleven living former administrators of the environmental protection agency, the oldest being William K. Reilly (served 1989-1993). The most recent death of a former administrator of the environmental protection agency was that of William Ruckelshaus (served 1970-1973, 1983-1985) on November 27, 2019.

References

Other websites

Media related to Administrators of the Environmental Protection Agency at Wikimedia Commons

• U.S. EPA History: Administrator photos, biographies, publications