Jeffrey Bossert Clark
Jeffrey Bossert Clark (born April 17, 1967)[1] is an American lawyer. Currently a partner at the law firm Kirkland & Ellis, he was confirmed as United States Assistant Attorney General for the Environment and Natural Resources Division on October 11, 2018.[2][3]
Jeff Clark | |
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United States Assistant Attorney General for the Environment and Natural Resources Division | |
Assumed office November 1, 2018 | |
President | Donald Trump |
Preceded by | John C. Cruden |
Personal details | |
Born | Jeffrey Bossert Clark April 17, 1967 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
Education | Harvard University (BA) University of Delaware (MA) Georgetown University (JD) |
Education
Clark graduated from Harvard University, cum laude, with a Bachelor of Arts in economics and Russian/Soviet history in 1989. In 1993, he received a Master of Arts, summa cum laude, from the University of Delaware in urban affairs and public policy. At Georgetown University Law Center, from which he received a Juris Doctor, magna cum laude, in 1995, Clark was articles editor of the Georgetown Law Journal.[4]
Career
After graduating from law school, Clark clerked for Judge Danny J. Boggs of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. Clark joined Kirkland & Ellis as a lawyer in 1996. He has been with the firm since then, excepting a period of service from 2001 to 2005 in the George W. Bush administration as Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the Environment and Natural Resources Division of the Justice Department.[5] At Kirkland & Ellis, Clark represented the United States Chamber of Commerce in lawsuits challenging the federal government's authority to regulate carbon emissions and the Environmental Protection Agency's "endangerment finding".[6] From 2012 to 2015, he was an elected member of the Governing Council of the American Bar Association's Administrative Law Section.[4]
In June 2017, Clark was nominated by President Donald Trump to become the United States Assistant Attorney General for the Environment and Natural Resources Division.[2]
Views on Regulating Greenhouse Gasses
Clark has opposed regulation of greenhouse gasses.[7] Clark characterized US efforts to regulate greenhouse gasses as “reminiscent of kind of a Leninistic program from the 1920s to seize control of the commanding heights of the economy.”[8][9] Regarding the 2010 EPA finding on greenhouse gas emissions, Clark wrote in a blog:
When did America risk coming to be ruled by foreign scientists and apparatchiks at the United Nations? The answer, it would seem, is ever since Lisa Jackson, the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under President Obama, chose to issue a rule determining that carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases endanger the public health and welfare.
— Jeffrey Bossert Clark[10]
References
- Jeffrey Bossert Clark (2018-Present)
- "President Donald J. Trump Announces Key Additions to his Administration" (Press release). The White House. June 6, 2017. Retrieved June 21, 2017.
- Cama, Timothy (October 11, 2018). "Senate confirms climate skeptic to head DOJ environment office". The Hill. Retrieved October 13, 2018.
- "Jeffrey Bossert Clark – Partner". Kirkland & Ellis. Retrieved June 21, 2017.
- Schneier, Cogan (June 6, 2017). "Trump Announces Slate of Big Law Nominees for DOJ, Agency Posts". National Law Journal. Retrieved June 21, 2017.
- Lavelle, Marianne; Cushman, John H. (June 6, 2017). "Trump Names BP Oil Spill Lawyer, Climate Policy Foe as Top DOJ Environment Attorney". InsideClimate News. Retrieved September 19, 2017.
- "Clark is unfit to lead the Department of Justice's Environmental and Natural Resources Division" (Press release). Sierra Club. June 28, 2017. Retrieved October 13, 2018.
- EPA: An Agency Gone Wild or Just Doing Its Job? (embedded video). Federalist Society. November 20, 2010. Retrieved October 13, 2018.
- Lavelle, Marianne (October 11, 2018). "Senate Confirms BP Oil Spill Lawyer, Climate Policy Foe as Government's Top Environment Attorney". Inside Climate News. Retrieved October 13, 2018.
- Clark, Jeffrey Bossert (April 28, 2010). "Can the EPA Rely on UN Science?". Retrieved October 13, 2018.
External links
Legal offices | ||
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Preceded by John C. Cruden |
United States Assistant Attorney General for the Environment and Natural Resources Division 2018–present |
Incumbent |