John Podesta is joining President Joe Biden’s team as a senior advisor overseeing the implementation of $370 billion in clean energy projects under the recently passed Inflation Reduction Act, the White House announced Friday.
The announcement came on the same day the Biden administration confirmed its top climate advisor Gina McCarthy is leaving in two weeks. Her deputy Ali Zaidi, who worked on climate initiatives in the Obama White House, will take over the job.
Podesta, who led former President Barack Obama’s climate strategy, will be tasked with doling out tax credits for clean energy products like solar panels and electric vehicles, and toward research and development in renewable energy production.
More recently, Podesta served as chair of Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign and founded the left-leaning think tank
The Center for American Progress.
“We are fortunate that John Podesta will lead our continued innovation and implementation,” the White House said in a statement. “His deep roots in climate and clean energy policy and his experience at senior levels of government mean we can truly hit the ground running to take advantage of the massive clean energy opportunity in front of us.”
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre confirmed McCarthy’s Sept. 16 departure at a press briefing Friday.
“Gina is indeed leaving us,” Jean-Pierre said. “She, as you know, has been a leader in what we have seen as one of the largest investment in dealing with climate change.”