ExecutiveOrdersEO
MemoMemorandumObama · D

Presidential Memorandum

Providing an Order of Succession Within the Council on Environmental Quality

This memorandum establishes a formal order of succession for the Chairman of the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ), listing five specific positions in priority order to act as Chairman during vacancies or incapacity. It revokes the prior Obama administration succession memorandum from March 13, 2015, and preserves presidential discretion to depart from the designated order.

Federal Register Open PDF 82 FR 7627

Impact dates

  1. Memorandum signed and effective

  2. Publication in Federal Register directed

Key directives

  • Establish order of succession: Managing Director, Chief of Staff, General Counsel, Associate Director for NEPA, then other Associate Directors by appointment date
  • Revoke Presidential Memorandum of March 13, 2015
  • Direct publication in Federal Register
  • Preserve presidential discretion to designate acting Chairman outside this order

Who is ordered

Timeline

Immediate

  • Revocation of March 13, 2015 memorandum takes effect
  • New succession order effective upon publication

Near term (90d)

—

Long term

  • Established succession framework governs future CEQ leadership transitions

Risks & tensions

  • Revocation of 2015 Obama-era memorandum without substantive change to succession structure suggests routine administrative housekeeping rather than policy shift
  • Low institutional stakes: CEQ is a small coordinating body without independent regulatory authority; succession planning has limited structural impact
  • Presidential discretion clause in Section 2(c) renders formal succession order largely advisory
Presidential Memorandum: Providing an Order of Succession Within the Council on Environmental Quality · Executive Orders