Nominations of Katherine Scarlett to be a Member of the Council on Environmental Quality and Jeffrey Hall to be an Assistant Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency

Senate Environment and Public Works Committee
562 Dirksen

07/23/2025 at 10:00AM

Full committee hearing.

Nominees:

  • Katherine Scarlett to be a Member of the Council on Environmental Quality
  • Jeffrey Hall to be an Assistant Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance

Scarlett has been serving as the CEQ chief of staff since the start of the current administration; previously, she worked at CEQ and served as chief of staff to the Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council during President Trump’s first administration. Additionally, she served as senior Republican professional staff on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee under Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.).

On February 19, 2025, Scarlett issued guidance in the form of a memorandum to the heads of federal agencies and departments (2025 CEQ Memo), providing direction on how agencies should update their existing NEPA procedures for consistency with the NEPA amendments in the Fiscal Responsibility Act (FRA) (2023 NEPA Statute) and the policy priorities laid out in the various Executive Orders (EOs) from President Trump. She made clear that environmental justice and cumulative impacts don’t need to be considered.

Jeffrey Hall, previously a partner at oil-industry law firm Burke Law Group, is principal deputy assistant administrator in EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. At Burke, Hall represented Dr. Eithan Haim, an anti-trans surgeon who stole minor patient files and shared them with neo-Nazi activist Chris Rufo. The case against Haim was dropped by the DOJ days after Trump became president. Hall also represented the anti-trans organization Do No Harm. Hall also represented the State of Louisiana in arguments before the Fifth Court of Appeals in Texas v. EPA. The court ruled against Louisiana.

A March 12 memo from Hall lays out specific “initial guidance” on realigning the agency’s 2023 National Enforcement and Compliance Initiatives with the Trump Administration’s stated goals. The memo provides that “enforcement and compliance assurance actions shall not shut down any stage of energy production . . . or power generation absent an imminent and substantial threat to human health or an express statutory or regulatory requirement to the contrary.” Further, actions that “would unduly burden or significantly disrupt energy production or power generation,” among other consequences, must be approved by Mr. Hall.