Jeffrey B. Clark, an architect of many of the Trump administration’s most consequential climate rollbacks, has left his position as the White House regulatory czar, according to three people familiar with the decision.
Mr. Clark, a former official in the Justice Department during President Trump’s first term, had also faced a criminal investigation in connection with Mr. Trump’s effort to overturn the 2020 election results in Georgia.
The president preemptively pardoned Mr. Clark in November, and the Georgia case was dismissed. Mr. Trump also pardoned others at the same time, including his former lawyer Rudolph W. Giuliani; John Eastman, a conservative lawyer who advised Mr. Trump’s 2020 campaign; and Sidney Powell, a lawyer who led one of the most far-fetched efforts to use the courts to reverse Mr. Trump’s electoral defeat.
Mr. Clark had served as the acting director of the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs since March 2025. As the government’s top regulatory official, he oversaw the dismantlement of federal restrictions on greenhouse gas emissions as well as air and water pollution.
He also helped design the recent repeal of a determination known as the endangerment finding that since 2009 had underpinned the federal government’s ability to fight global warming.
The repeal was a long-held goal of Mr. Clark, who has called climate rules a “Leninistic” plot to seize control of the economy, and argued in federal court as a Justice Department lawyer in the George W. Bush administration that the government lacked the authority to curb greenhouse gases.
Mr. Clark’s LinkedIn profile now lists him as the “former” head of the regulatory office. The three people with knowledge of his departure confirmed his departure on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss personnel decisions. The move was first reported by E&E News, an environmental news outlet.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Mr. Clark could not be reached for comment.
Lisa Friedman is a Times reporter who writes about how governments are addressing climate change and the effects of those policies on communities.
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