White House Council on Environmental Quality Chair Katherine Scarlett is leaving the administration less than a year after her Senate confirmation.
Scarlett, who has played a key role in working to accelerate energy project approvals, is joining Washington public affairs and communications firm CGCN Group as a partner, according to a LinkedIn post Tuesday.
“It has been an honor serving as President [Donald] Trump’s CEQ Chair and carrying out his vision for a more efficient environmental review and permitting process,” she said in the post.
CEQ under Scarlett has rolled back National Environmental Policy Act implementation rules. It has also worked with agencies to update how they implement NEPA.
“I’m proud of all of the accomplishments of our CEQ team from coordinating updated NEPA procedures for more than 60 agencies to advancing permitting technologies to streamline reviews across the federal government,” Scarlett said.
Prior to her Senate confirmation in September 2025, Scarlett served as CEQ chief of staff for roughly nine months. In a White House post last week, Scarlett said NEPA’s “reign of terror has ended.”
Beyond executive action, the White House has been working with Senate committee leaders from both sides of the aisle to land a broad permitting reform deal.
CEQ’s current chief of staff, Rachael McNitt, will be performing the duties of chair, a White House official told POLITICO. Bloomberg first reported on Scarlett’s departure from CEQ.
Hannah Northey contributed to this report.
