Politics

Biden Gets Earful From Progressives on Environment Jobs

  • Upcoming selections for EPA and Energy slots expose rift
  • Battle between experienced hands, environmental crusaders

US President-elect Joe Biden 

Photographer: Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images

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President-elect Joe Biden is facing pressure from dueling factions as he gets close to naming people to carry out his environmental policies: traditionalists who are pushing experienced hands and activists eager for fresh thinking.

Progressives have mounted a furious campaign to steer Biden away from nominating more conventional picks such as California regulator Mary Nichols to head the Environmental Protection Agency. They are urging newer leaders focused on environmental justice such as Collin O’Mara, head of the National Wildlife Federation.