By a vote of 66-34 Wednesday, the Senate confirmed Michael Regan to head the Environmental Protection Agency. He will be the first Black man to lead the EPA in the agency’s 50-year history. Regan, known for his bipartisan approach as head of the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality, won the support of 16 Senate Republicans in addition to every Democrat. He will now face the difficult work of rebuilding a gutted environmental agency, as he did in North Carolina, and enacting ambitious new rules to advance President Biden’s climate goals. As North Carolina’s top environmental regulator, Regan racked up major climate wins, including a plan to cut the state’s power sector emissions by 70 percent by 2030. But he also drew criticism from environmentalists for greenlighting fossil fuel projects, such as the Atlantic Coast Pipeline, that would impact communities of color. In his confirmation hearings, Regan said he would focus on combating climate change and aiding marginalized communities. “We all have a stake in the health of our environment, the strength of our economy, the well-being of our communities and the legacy we will leave the next generation in the form of our nation’s natural resources,” he said in his February hearing before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. (New York Times $, Washington Post $, AP, Reuters, LA Times $, HuffPost, Bloomberg $, CNN, Politico Pro $, The Hill)