Aaron Szabo, the head of EPA’s powerful air office, is staying at the agency despite announcing to staff earlier this month that he would depart as of July 17.
Szabo remains listed as assistant administrator for the Office of Air and Radiation on EPA’s website, and the agency quoted him in press releases as recently as Monday.
Two people familiar with the situation said Szabo remains in his role at the agency despite having held an all-hands meeting on July 7 announcing his departure.
One said he is expected to stay on until efforts to unwind major air pollution rules are finished. The other person said Szabo had planned to join a law firm after leaving EPA. Both were granted anonymity to speak candidly.
In the week leading up to his planned last day, Szabo held three going-away events, according to one of the people. One was in Washington; one in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where the air office operates the National Vehicle and Fuel Emissions Laboratory; and another in Durham, North Carolina, where EPA has research offices.
An inquiry sent directly to Szabo’s EPA email returned an automatic message that was blank. The two people said Szabo recently left on a pre-planned two-week vacation.
“It is no secret that Aaron Szabo has been incredibly impactful in furthering EPA’s commonsense rulemaking over the last 18 months,” EPA spokesperson Carolyn Holran said in a statement. “His skill and expertise are invaluable, and he has been asked to stay on a little longer to help further advance the President’s agenda and Power the Great American Comeback.”
Holran did not say for how long Szabo may remain at his post.
The reversal comes as the administration lurches into the home stretch of finalizing moves to slash air emissions regulations for power plants, vehicles and industrial sources.
Szabo is an experienced hand in an EPA air office with a relatively thin top brass. He served as a career official in the White House Office of Management and Budget before joining the first Trump administration’s EPA team.
EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin recently brought on more firepower by adding Justin Schwab as senior adviser. Schwab joined Zeldin’s office earlier this month from the White House Council on Environmental Quality and was deputy general counsel in Trump’s first EPA.
