Michael Regan confirmed as first Black man to lead EPA

By Alyssa Wilson Published: March 11, 2021

Michael Regan confirmed as first Black man to lead EPA

FILE - In this Jan. 3, 2017 file photo, Michael Regan listens as North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper announces that Regan will lead the Department of Environmental Quality in North Carolina, at the Executive Manson in Raleigh, N.C. President-elect Joe Biden has picked an experienced but not widely known state regulator, Michael Regan of North Carolina, to lead the Environmental Protection Agency. Regan is head of North Carolina’s environmental agency. (Chuck Liddy/The News & Observer via AP)

The Senate voted to confirm Michael Regan to head the Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday, becoming the first Black man to lead the agency.

According to USA Today, the 44-year-old was confirmed with a bipartisan vote of 66-34, with sixteen Republicans voting in his favor.

Regan worked at the EPA for several years in the Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards before joining the Environmental Defense Fund in 2008.

In 2015, he founded M. Regan and Associates, an environmental issues consulting firm, before becoming cabinet secretary for North Carolina’s Department of Environmental Quality.

Michael Regan will play a significant role in President Joe Biden’s climate plan, which requires fixing the issues the EPA gained under the Trump administration.