White House Set to Tap Senior EPA Adviser for Air Office Role, Sources Say

NEW YORK, July 29 - The White House was prepared to nominate Justin Schwab, a senior adviser to Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin, to head the agency’s influential air office after the current chief said he would step down, according to three people familiar with the plans.

But officeholder Aaron Szabo’s planned move to a law firm fell apart at the last minute, halting the nomination for now, one of the sources said. Szabo attended several farewell gatherings with staff before remaining in the job, the sources said.

Szabo, who leads the EPA’s Office of Air and Radiation, had intended to leave the agency on July 17 for a private-sector position. He was asked to stay “a little longer to help further advance the President’s agenda and Power the Great American Comeback,” the EPA said after Reuters asked about his status.

Schwab joined the EPA this month as a senior adviser from the White House Council on Environmental Quality and served as deputy general counsel for the EPA during President Donald Trump’s first term.