
The Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) is a division of the
Executive Office of the President
The Executive Office of the President of the United States (EOP) comprises the offices and agencies that support the work of the president at the center of the executive branch of the United States federal government. The office consists o ...
that coordinates federal
environmental efforts in the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
and works closely with agencies and other White House offices on the development of environmental and energy policies and initiatives.
Mission
The CEQ produces an annual report for the president on the state of the environment, oversees federal agency implementation of
environmental impact assessments, and acts as a referee when agencies disagree over the adequacy of such assessments. The National Environmental Policy Act tasks CEQ with ensuring that federal agencies meet their obligations under the Act, granting the body a significant role in environmental protection. Through inter-agency working groups and coordination with other EOP bodies, CEQ also works to advance the president's agenda on the environment, natural resources, and energy.
History
Origins
The
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the legislature, legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, including a Lower house, lower body, the United States House of Representatives, ...
established the CEQ within the Executive Office of the President as part of the
National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), during the
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 until Resignation of Richard Nixon, his resignation in 1974. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican ...
administration. The CEQ was assigned additional responsibilities by the
Environmental Quality Improvement Act of 1970. In enacting NEPA, Congress recognized that nearly all federal activities affect the environment in some way, and mandated that federal agencies must consider the environmental effects of their actions during their planning and decision-making processes. Under NEPA, CEQ works to balance environmental, economic, and social objectives in pursuit of NEPA's goal of "productive harmony" between humans and their environment.
Clinton administration
President
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...
appointed
Kathleen McGinty and then
George T. Frampton Jr. to chair the agency. Clinton started his administration in 1993 with an announcement that CEQ would be "replaced" with a new White House Office on Environmental Policy with McGinty as director before later merging that office back into CEQ with McGinty formally nominated as chair.
[https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/remarks-announcing-the-creation-the-white-house-office-environmental-policy][https://clintonwhitehouse6.archives.gov/1993/02/1993-02-08-white-house-office-to-coordinate-environmental-policy.html][https://clintonwhitehouse6.archives.gov/1995/01/1995-01-04-mcginty-to-chair-council-on-environmental-quality.html]
George W. Bush administration
President
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...
's CEQ chairman was
James L. Connaughton, serving from 2001 to 2009. He was formerly a partner at the law firm
Sidley Austin LLP, where he
lobbied to reduce government regulation on behalf of clients including the
Aluminum Company of America and the
Chemical Manufacturers Association of America.
During the Bush administration, there were concerns over links between CEQ staffers and the industries it oversaw.
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
Environment Analyst
Roger Harrabin described it as "a hard-line group of advisers with close links to the
U.S. oil industry." One CEQ chief of staff under President Bush,
Philip Cooney, was previously a
lobbyist employed by the
American Petroleum Institute
The American Petroleum Institute (API) is the largest U.S. trade association for the oil and natural gas industry. It claims to represent nearly 600 corporations involved in extraction of petroleum, production, oil refinery, refinement, pipeline ...
. In June 2005, ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' published an internal CEQ memo provided by federal
whistleblower
Whistleblowing (also whistle-blowing or whistle blowing) is the activity of a person, often an employee, revealing information about activity within a private or public organization that is deemed illegal, immoral, illicit, unsafe, unethical or ...
Rick Piltz. The memo showed Cooney had repeatedly edited government climate reports in order to play down links between
emissions and
global warming
Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes ...
. Cooney, who claimed he had been planning to resign for two years, resigned two days after the scandal broke "to spend more time with his family." Immediately after resigning, Cooney went to work for
ExxonMobil
Exxon Mobil Corporation ( ) is an American multinational List of oil exploration and production companies, oil and gas corporation headquartered in Spring, Texas, a suburb of Houston. Founded as the Successors of Standard Oil, largest direct s ...
in their public affairs department. In 2005 Piltz created a watchdog organization Climate Science Watch, a program of the
Government Accountability Project.
Obama administration
Under President
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...
,
Nancy Sutley served as
Chair of the Council on Environmental Quality from January 2009 until February 2014. Following Sutley's departure,
Michael Boots served as acting head of the Council until March 2015.
Christy Goldfuss was appointed to succeed Boots, and served in the same capacity, as "managing director", until the end of Obama's term, in January 2017.
First Trump administration
In October 2017, President
Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...
nominated
Kathleen Hartnett White—former chair of the
Texas Commission on Environmental Quality—to be chair of the CEQ. However, her nomination was withdrawn in February 2018 as she did not garner enough support in the Senate. CEQ chief of staff and acting head
Mary Neumayr was nominated and considered in summer 2018 as chair. She was confirmed in January 2019.
Biden administration
In December 2020, president-elect
Joe Biden
Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...
nominated
Brenda Mallory—then-director of regulatory policy at the
Southern Environmental Law Center, and general counsel of the CEQ during the Obama administration—to serve as chair of the CEQ. Mallory was confirmed by the Senate on April 14, 2021, becoming the first African American chair of the CEQ.
Mallory took part in the virtual
2021 Leaders' Climate Summit.
In November 2024, the
ruled in ''Marin Audubon Society v. FAA'' that the CEQ does not have the authority to create binding regulations under the
National Environmental Policy Act.
Second Trump administration
In 2025, the second Trump administration issued an interim final rule directed the CEQ to rescind all regulations it had made implementing the NEPA since 1977.
Chair
The Chair of the Council on Environmental Quality serves as the principal environmental policy adviser to the US President. In addition, CEQ reports annually to the President on the state of the environment; oversees federal agency implementation of the
environmental impact assessment process; and acts as a referee when agencies disagree over the adequacy of such assessments. The Council coordinates federal environmental efforts and works closely with agencies and other White House offices in the development of environmental policies and initiatives.
Notes
See also
*
Executive Office of the President of the United States
The Executive Office of the President of the United States (EOP) comprises the offices and agencies that support the work of the president at the center of the executive branch of the United States federal government. The office consists o ...
*
The Global 2000 Report to the President
References
External links
Council on Environmental QualityProposed and finalized federal regulations from the Council on Environmental Quality
{{Authority control
Environmental law in the United States
Environmental policy in the United States
Executive Office of the President of the United States
George W. Bush administration controversies
1969 in the environment
1969 establishments in the United States
Government agencies established in 1969