Lisa Jackson is resigning from her position as head of the Environmental Protection Agency after serving for four years. In a statement regarding her resignation, Jackson said “I will leave the EPA confident the ship is sailing in the right direction, and ready in my own life for new challenges, time with my family and new opportunities to make a difference.” Her term as chief environmental watchdog has been marked by conflicts over global warming pollution, the Keystone XL oil pipeline, and new controls on coal-fired plants. During her service she was praised by activists such as Frances Beinecke, president of the Natural Resources Defense Council, “There has been no fiercer champion of our health and our environment than Lisa Jackson,” said Beinecke, “and every American is better off today than when she took office nearly four years ago.” But she was simultaneously kept under intense scrutiny and criticism from Republicans and business leaders. One coal industry official accused her of waging “regulatory jihad,” and she was summoned to testify before hostile House committees dozens of times in 2011.
Jackson did not give a specific reason for her departure, but in an interview said she wanted to take some time to rest before exploring other career options. President Obama sent her off with words of high praise.
“Over the last four years, Lisa Jackson has shown an unwavering commitment to the health of our families and our children,” the president said. “Under her leadership, the E.P.A. has taken sensible and important steps to protect the air we breathe and the water we drink, including implementing the first national standard for harmful mercury pollution, taking important action to combat climate change under the Clean Air Act, and playing a key role in establishing historic fuel economy standards that will save the average American family thousands of dollars at the pump, while also slashing carbon pollution.”
