Confirm Climate Weekly Update – May 3, 2021
The top news of the previous week was the confirmation of Janet McCabe as Deputy EPA Administrator. In addition, President Biden continued to roll out qualified, climate-forward nominees
to serve in key positions at the Department of Energy and Department of Defense. Here’s the latest.
McCabe Is In! – Last Tuesday, the Senate voted to confirm Janet McCabe by a vote of 52-42.
Republican Senators Susan Collins (ME), Chuck Grassley (IA), and Lisa Murkowski (AK) voted in favor of McCabe, while
Joe Manchin (WV) was the lone Democrat to vote no. At her swearing in ceremony on Thursday, McCabe noted, “It is an honor to return to
the agency and to work alongside Administrator Regan, the incredibly talented career team, and our many external partners, including the states and Tribes.”
CAC Resource: Janet
McCabe Guidance
Science at DOE –
Geraldine Richmond is President Biden’s pick to serve as Under Secretary for Science at Department of Energy. A long-time Professor of Chemistry at the University of Oregon, Richmond brings considerable experience to the role and once confirmed, will fill
a position marginalized by the last administration. CAC Resource: Geraldine
Richmond Guidance
Navy Nominee –
Meredith Berger is President Biden’s nominee for Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Energy, Installations, and Environment. Berger, who
formerly served at both the Pentagon and the EPA, clearly understands the intersection between national security and climate change. CAC Resource:
Meredith Berger Guidance
Opportunity
– Please consider signing onto a community
letter in support of the confirmation of Tracy Stone-Manning to be Director of the Bureau of Land Management. The deadline to sign-on
is Friday, May 7th. To view and add your organization to the letter, please visit
here.
Up Next – Many of the nominees we’re tracking are still waiting for their first Senate committee
hearing. These include: Tracy Stone-Manning (BLM Director), Rick Spinard (NOAA Administrator), Carlos Monje (DOT Under Secretary for Policy), Christopher Coes (DOT Assistant Secretary for Policy), Robert Hampshire (DOT Assistant Secretary for Research), and
Michael Brown (DOD Under Secretary for Acquisition and Sustainment). Also pending is the nomination of Todd Kim for Assistant Attorney General leading the Department of Justice’s Environment and Natural Resources Division. Kim received an initial Senate Judiciary
Committee hearing in mid-April. CAC Resource: Guidance for Confirm Climate Nominees
Advertising Update – Confirm Climate is running Thank You ads in Arizona, South Carolina, and
West Virginia sponsored by EEN; Georgia sponsored by Sierra Club Georgia Chapter; and Maine sponsored by NRCM. An example of the ad can be found here.
Ads targeting Senators Sinema, Kelly, Manchin, Collins, King, Warnock, Ossoff, and Graham urging them to confirm Brenda Mallory ran for weeks leading up to the vote and were successful in urging their “yes” votes in her final confirmation. EDF is also running
Thank You ads under the Confirm Climate campaign thanking nine senators (Bennet, Collins, Graham, Hickenlooper, Kelly, King, Manchin, Portman, and Sinema) for their votes to confirm Brenda Mallory.
With the nomination of four more Tier I Confirm Climate nominees, we will begin development of four new sets of Confirm Climate ads for Tracy Stone-Manning for BLM Director, Amanda Lefton
for BOEM Director, Todd Kim for Asst Attorney General for Environment and Natural Resources, and Rick Spinrad for NOAA Administrator.
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