Trump taps EPA Midwest regional boss

By Kevin Bogardus | 01/24/2025 01:25 PM EST

The Trump administration is moving at a rapid clip to fill EPA’s top positions, including regional administrators.

Jim Macy will lead the EPA Region 7 branch.

Jim Macy will lead the EPA Region 7 branch. Francis Chung/POLITICO, Linkedin

A former top environmental regulator in Nebraska will be EPA’s next Region 7 administrator.

Jim Macy starts Monday as head of the agency’s Midwest regional branch, according to an internal email obtained by POLITICO’s E&E News. He has deep experience in state government management and is a familiar face for EPA’s regional staff.

“Jim will arrive ready to dive in on day 1 with almost 40 years of environmental protection experience in the Heartland,” Edward Chu, Region 7’s deputy administrator, told staff in the email sent Thursday.

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In 2015, then-Gov. Pete Ricketts (R), now a senator, appointed Macy to lead the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality. He was the interim director of the Nebraska Department of Energy in 2018 and then led the merger of several agencies, forming the Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy.

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