White House Office of Domestic Climate Policy

The White House Office of Domestic Climate Policy (also known as the Climate Policy Office) was an office within the White House Office that is part of the Executive Office of the President of the United States. It was headed by the Assistant to the President and National Climate Advisor (also known as the White House national climate advisor), which was the president's chief advisor on domestic climate change policy.^[1][2] In addition, the National Climate Advisor served as vice-chair of the National Climate Task Force.

White House National Climate Advisor
Incumbent Vacant since January 20, 2025
Executive Branch of the U.S. Government Executive Office of the President
Appointer	The president
Deputy	Vacant

The Climate Policy Office differed from the U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, who coordinated foreign climate policy, as well as the Senior Advisor for Clean Energy Innovation and Implementation, who coordinated clean energy policy. It also differed from the Council on Environmental Quality, which assesses environmental impacts within federal agencies.

History

The Climate Policy Office has its roots in the White House Office of Energy and Climate Change Policy, which was established under the administration of Barack Obama in 2008 but was folded into the United States Domestic Policy Council in 2011 after Congress refused to fund the office. Carol Browner served as the only director of this office. No equivalent office was established under the administration of Donald Trump.

The position of the National Climate Advisor was established by President Joe Biden on January 20, 2021, and the Climate Policy Office was established on January 27. On December 14, 2020, it was announced that Gina McCarthy, the former administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency under President Barack Obama, would serve as the first national climate advisor, as well as chair of the National Climate Task Force.^[3][4][5][6] Former New York deputy secretary of energy and environment, Ali Zaidi, served as the first deputy national climate advisor.^[7]

On 16 September 2022, Ali Zaidi was promoted to assistant to the president and national climate advisor.^[8] However, the leadership of the Task Force was reshuffled, with the Senior Advisor for Clean Energy Innovation and Implementation becoming chair and National Climate Advisor moved to vice-chair.^[9]

President Trump, by rescinding the establishing executive order abolished the Office of domestic climate policy. ^[10][11]

List of climate advisors

No.	Portrait	Officeholder	Term start	Term end	President		Notes
1		Carol Browner	January 22, 2009	March 3, 2011		Barack Obama	as Director of the Office of Energy and Climate Change Policy
Vacant (March 3, 2011 – January 20, 2021)
2		Gina McCarthy	January 20, 2021	September 16, 2022		Joe Biden	as White House National Climate Advisor
3		Ali Zaidi	September 16, 2022	January 20, 2025
Vacant (January 20, 2025 – present)

Structure

• Assistant to the President & White House National Climate Advisor: Ali Zaidi
  • Chief of Staff for the Office of Domestic Climate Policy: Medha Raj
• Deputy Assistant to the President & Deputy National Climate Advisor: Mary Repko
  • Special Assistant to the President for Climate Policy: Maggie Thomas
  • Special Assistant to the President for Climate Policy: David Hayes
  • Special Assistant to the President for Climate Policy: John Rhodes
  • Special Assistant to the President for Climate Finance: Clare Sierawski
  • Special Assistant to the President for Climate Policy and Finance: Jahi Wise
  • Special Assistant to the President for Climate Policy, Innovation & Deployment: Sonia Aggarwal
  • Senior Advisor for Climate Resilience and Adaptation: Krystal Laymon
  • Senior Advisor for Clean Energy Infrastructure: Robert Golden
  • Senior Advisor for Climate Policy: Nick Conger
  • Senior Director for Industrial Emissions: Trisha Miller
  • Senior Director for Transportation Emissions: Austin Brown
  • Senior Director for Land, Water, and Agriculture: Melinda Cep

See also

• U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate
• White House Office on Clean Energy Innovation and Implementation
• White House Office of Energy and Climate Change Policy, which existed under the Obama administration