Katherine Scarlett Steps Down as Chair of White House Environmental Council After Rollback of Decades-Old Review Rules

Katherine Scarlett has departed her position as chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality, The Hill reported. She led a rollback of federal environmental standards for new infrastructure projects during her tenure. According to Bloomberg Government, which first reported the exit, Scarlett is headed to the consulting firm CGCN Group.

Rachael McNitt, the CEQ’s chief of staff, is serving as acting chair, an administration official told The Hill. The CEQ oversees implementation of the National Environmental Policy Act, which requires environmental reviews of construction projects. Under Scarlett, the Trump administration rescinded White House regulations dating as far back as 1978 that outlined how government agencies should conduct those analyses.

Agencies have since issued their own guidelines for environmental reviews following the rescissions of the overarching standards.