White House national climate adviser Gina McCarthy resigns

White House national climate adviser Gina McCarthy has resigned from her position, the White House confirmed Friday.

“Gina is indeed leaving us,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters Friday.

“She, as you know, has been a leader in what we have seen as one of the largest investment in dealing with climate change,” Jean-Pierre said.

“We are very sad to lose her,” she added.

Biden boasted of McCarthy’s accomplishments while in office via a press statement released not long after the news broke.

“Under Gina McCarthy and Ali Zaidi’s leadership, my administration has taken the most aggressive action ever, from historic legislation to bold executive actions, to confront the climate crisis head-on,” Biden wrote. “The Inflation Reduction Act is the biggest step forward on clean energy and climate in history, and it paves the way for additional steps we will take to meet our clean energy and climate goals.”

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McCarthy’s resignation has been long-coming, with rumors of her departure stretching back to the beginning of the year.

In April, McCarthy made a public announcement via social media denying rumors that she was stepping down.

“Reports that I have resigned from my position as President Biden’s National Climate Advisor are simply inaccurate,” McCarthy wrote at the time. “We’ve made great progress these past 14 months, but we have much more work to do — and I remain excited about the opportunities ahead.”

McCarthy, who is from Massachusetts, led the Environmental Protection Agency under President Barack Obama before Biden chose her to lead domestic climate policy.

The president has rescinded some of former President Donald Trump’s actions, including his decision to withdraw from the Paris Climate Agreement and the World Health Organization.

McCarthy’s last day as national climate advisor will be Sept. 16.

Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy National Climate Advisor Ali Zaidi will be promoted to McCarthy’s position.

Additionally, Center for America Progress founder John Podesta will step into a new role as Senior Advisor to the President for Clean Energy Innovation and Implementation. 

Podesta was the former chair of Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign whose emails were stolen in a phishing scam in 2016.