Michael S. Regan on Thursday was sworn in as the 16th Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), following a 66-34 confirmation vote in the Senate the previous day.
Michael Regan, EPA Administrator
Regan’s background includes 18 years of experience evenly split between EPA and the Environmental Defense Fund. At EPA from 1998-2008, he worked on air issues, ending as a national program manager for program design in the Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards. At EDF, he focused mostly on climate change issues. Prior to his nomination as EPA Administrator, he served as the Secretary of the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ).
Both North Carolina Republican senators supported Regan. In addition, Regan also garnered GOP floor support from Sens. Mike Braun of Indiana, Susan Collins of Maine, Kevin Cramer of North Dakota, Deb Fischer of Nebraska, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Chuck Grassley of Iowa, Roger Wicker and Cindy Hyde-Smith of Mississippi, Mike Lee of Utah, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Rob Portman of Ohio, Mitt Romney of Utah, Mike Rounds of South Dakota, and Marco Rubio of Florida.
Regan is a native of Goldsboro, North Carolina, where he developed a passion for the environment while hunting and fishing with his father and grandfather, and exploring the vast lands, waters and inner Coastal Plain of North Carolina, according to an EPA press release. He is a graduate of the North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University, making him the first EPA Administrator to have graduated from a Historically Black College and University. He earned a master’s degree in Public Administration from The George Washington University.
