| Post: | Administrator |
| Body: | the Environmental Protection Agency |
| Insignia: | File:Seal of the United States Environmental Protection Agency.svg |
| Insigniasize: | 150 |
| Insigniacaption: | Seal of the Environmental Protection Agency |
| Incumbent: | Michael S. Regan |
| Incumbentsince: | March 11, 2021 |
| Member Of: | Cabinet |
| Inaugural: | William D. Ruckelshaus |
| Formation: | 1970 |
The administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency is the head of the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and is thus responsible for enforcing the nation's Clean Air and Clean Water Acts, as well as numerous other environmental statutes. The administrator is nominated by the president of the United States and must be confirmed by a vote of the Senate.
On March 10, 2021, Michael S. Regan was confirmed by a vote 66 to 34 as the administrator of the EPA, the first Black man to serve in this role.[1]
Since the Clinton administration, the EPA administrator has been accorded cabinet rank by the president. The administrator of the EPA is equivalent to the position of Minister of the Environment in other countries. There have been various proposals to make the EPA a full executive department.
| Officeholder | scope=col | Term | President(s) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| scope=row | – April 30, 1973 | ||||
| – September 12, 1973 | |||||
| – January 20, 1977 | |||||
| – March 6, 1977 | |||||
| scope=row | – January 20, 1981 | ||||
| – January 25, 1981 | |||||
| – May 19, 1981 | |||||
| scope=row | – March 9, 1983 | ||||
| – May 17, 1983 | |||||
| scope=row | – January 4, 1985 | ||||
| scope=row rowspan=2 | – February 8, 1985 | ||||
| – January 20, 1989 | |||||
| – February 6, 1989 | |||||
| scope=row | – January 20, 1993 | ||||
| – January 31, 1993 | |||||
| scope=row | – January 20, 2001 | ||||
| scope=row | – June 27, 2003 | ||||
| – July 14, 2003 | |||||
| – November 5, 2003 | |||||
| scope=row | – January 26, 2005 | ||||
| scope=row rowspan=2 | – May 2, 2005 | ||||
| – January 20, 2009 | |||||
| – January 21, 2009 | |||||
| – January 23, 2009 | |||||
| scope=row | – February 15, 2013 | ||||
| – July 18, 2013 | |||||
| scope=row | – January 20, 2017 | ||||
| – February 17, 2017 | |||||
| scope=row | – July 9, 2018 | ||||
| scope=row rowspan=2 | – February 28, 2019 | ||||
| – January 20, 2021 | |||||
Acting | |||||
Acting | – March 11, 2021 | ||||
| scope=row | – present | ||||
Acting administrators usually assume the office in the interim period between the resignation of a previous administrator and the confirmation of his or her successor, including during the transition period between two presidential administrations, before the successor has been nominated and confirmed. Acting administrators come from within the EPA and usually hold an office that is subject to Senate confirmation before becoming the acting administrator. Linda Fisher and Stephen L. Johnson had served as Deputy Administrator when they became acting administrator. Marianne Lamont Horinko was an assistant administrator at the time. They are not subject to Senate confirmation to serve as the acting administrator, though to continue to serve as a full-fledged administrator (as in the case of Lee M. Thomas or Stephen L. Johnson), they must be confirmed by the Senate.
The line of succession for the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency is as follows:[2]