Bush selects New Jersey governor to head U.S. EPA

Dec. 22, 2000—President-elect George W. Bush has nominated New Jersey Republican Gov. Christie Todd Whitman as his Environmental Protection Agency administrator.

Gov. Whitman, often referred to as a passionate outdoorswoman, has a mixed record in her executive role in the Garden State, having championed an unpopular automobile emissions standard intended to reduce smog, but also being criticized for budget cuts in state environmental protection agencies and compromises on water pollution standards.

Whitman currently chairs the nonprofit Pew Oceans Commissions, formed last spring by the nonprofit Pew Charitable Trusts to study pollution, overfishing, coastal development and the health of marine life.

If confirmed by the Senate, Whitman would be the eighth U.S. EPA Administrator since 1970.