White House Enviro Council Chairwoman Sutley Stepping Down

White House Council on Environmental Quality Chairwoman Nancy Sutley will step down in February, marking the almost complete turnover of President Obama's top environment and energy officials. Sutley, appointed at the outset of Obama's presidency, has kept a lower political profile than some other top officials. But she played a crucial role in several major administration policies, the White House said. The White House has not yet named Sutley's replacement. Obama, in a statement, thanked Sutley for her five years with the White House, calling her a vital part of such policies as the second-term climate agenda he rolled out in June. Sutley is the latest long-serving environmental official to leave the Obama administration. Obama's first-term Environmental Protection Agency administrator, Lisa Jackson, left early this year, and the second term has also brought new secretaries of Energy and the Interior. More recently, top White House climate and energy aide Heather Zichal left in November. The Washington Post reported in October that White House officials, in an effort to get Zichal to stick around, raised the possibility of her taking the CEQ job, but she declined...more