White House climate adviser Gina McCarthy is planning to step down from her post, according to two sources familiar with the deliberations, likely ending a tenure marked by ambitious emissions targets but failure in securing major U.S. carbon-cutting legislation.
McCarthy, 67, had initially planned to remain in the White House for about a year, hoping to help federal agencies implement President Joe Biden's ambitious climate legislation, but those efforts have stalled amid intraparty opposition from key Democratic senators.
McCarthy has already delayed her departure, and told one Reuters source that she plans to leave as soon as next month.
White House spokesman Vedant Patel said on Thursday: "This is not true and there are no such plans underway and no personnel announcements to make."
He added, "Gina and her entire team continue to be laser focused on delivering on President Biden's clean energy agenda," he said in an email.
McCarthy, a former administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency under the Obama administration, was selected by Biden to a new role leading domestic climate policy coordination at the White House.
McCarthy leads inter-agency efforts to coordinate domestic climate change policy and serves as a counterpart to John Kerry, who Biden appointed as his special envoy on climate change. She has been the domestic face of the administration's climate efforts.
Biden came into office with an ambitious climate agenda, with the cornerstone a $555 billion plan to transition to cleaner energy in all aspects of American life. McCarthy, a regulatory expert, was going to be tasked with implementing the plan across multiple agencies, but the plan has stalled in Congress.
© 2026 Thomson/Reuters. All rights reserved.