Search Heats Up for EPA Leader; White House Under Pressure

Lynn Schenkman

Washington, D.C. -- News sources report the White House is closing in on a new administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The current administrator, Christine Todd Whitman, will leave the EPA June 27. Idaho Governor Dirk Kempthorne, a Republican, may be a strong candidate for the position. Others are EPA’s Midwest Region Administrator Tom Skinner and the current deputy to Whitman, Linda Fisher.

Democrats criticizing Bush’s environmental record are hoping the relatively fast decision the administration will have to make -- a replacement must be secured within 210 days -- will provide campaign spin during the presidential race. In an interview with the New York Times, Administrator Christie Whitman stated that the differences between the White House and the EPA over the results and interpretation of an upcoming environment report have led to omissions of information. In general, this information indicated that emissions from power plants and automobiles are partially responsible for global warming, which has risen sharply in the past decade.