The U.S. Senate has confirmed Jessica Kramer as the next assistant administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Office of Water. Kramer was first nominated by President Donald Trump in February and had been awaiting confirmation for seven months.
Kramer worked in the Office of Water during the first Trump administration and has been working as a senior advisor under EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin since the beginning of Trump’s second term. Prior to her return to EPA, Kramer had been working at the Florida Department of Environmental Protection as deputy secretary of regulatory programs.
“Jess Kramer brings unprecedented expertise, leadership, and experience to EPA’s Office of Water, and I congratulate her on her confirmation,” said Zeldin. “She is exceptionally well-equipped to help carry out President Trump’s agenda of providing the cleanest water to ALL Americans. Over the past several months, I have seen her dedication to serving the American people firsthand and I know that commitment will never waver.”
“I am grateful and humbled by this opportunity,” said Kramer. “Clean and safe water is the foundation for healthy Americans, and I look forward to protecting this vital resource while ensuring that our work secures the win-win of environmental protection and economic prosperity. This work matters to everyone, especially small and rural communities like the one in Wisconsin where I grew up. As Assistant Administrator for Water, I will listen to our partners and accelerate progress achieving Congress’ vision laid out in the Safe Drinking Water Act, Clean Water Act, and other environmental statutes.”
Before her time at Florida DEP, Kramer briefly served as a senior policy advisor and counsel for government relations at Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck. She has extensive experience developing and implementing water policy, including serving as water counsel under then-Ranking Member Sen. Shelley Moore-Capito (now Chair) for the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, where Kramer led many of the Republicans’ contributions to the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
The Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies (AMWA), representing large drinking water systems, is one water sector group that endorsed Kramer’s nomination in February.
At an event in Washington, D.C., in April, Kramer noted support for many of the top water sector issues like renewal of aging infrastructure, affordability and cybersecurity protection. She expressed support for the “polluter pays” principle in PFAS cleanup and liability protections under CERCLA for drinking water and wastewater systems.
Leave a Reply