EPA administrator to step down from post

The first African-American to hold the position, and a chemical engineer by training, Jackson gave no signal on what she plans to do next. But sources close to Jackson, 50, hinted that she may be headed back to her former home in New Jersey, either for a chance to become president of Princeton University or to run for governor.

Reaction was largely muted among industry leaders and Republican lawmakers, as they instead viewed the opening at the Environmental Protection Agency as a rare opportunity to push back on many regulatory policies they see as intrusive and harmful to the stumbling economy.

“Lisa Jackson and I disagreed on many issues and regulations while she headed the EPA,” Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Okla., the senior Republican on the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, said in a statement. “However I have always appreciated her receptivity to my concerns.”

Now, he said, her leaving “provides President Obama with an opportunity to appoint an EPA administrator who appreciates the needs of our economy.”

Rep. Joe Barton of Texas, a top Republican on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, said in an interview that “in terms of who would replace her, that is one of the more difficult jobs” in Washington.

“There’s such an emotionalism about the issue,” he said. “If you get someone good on science and facts, they may not have quite the passion the environmental extremists want. And if you get someone who’s got the passion, they will tend to make decisions not based on the facts and hurt our economy and ability to create jobs.”

Jackson told the president after his November re-election that she no longer wanted to continue running the agency, and suggested she would be gone after his State of the Union address in January.

In speaking to her staff Thursday, she recalled telling Obama four years ago about the need to address climate change, as well as other issues like air pollution, toxic chemicals and waste-site cleanups. However, the president backed away from major climate-change efforts, as well as other issues like ozone pollution, leading to reports of tension between Jackson and the White House. Nevertheless, Jackson said in her statement that “I leave the EPA confident the ship is sailing in the right direction.”