The United States Congress established the CEQ within the Executive Office of the President as part of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), during the Richard Nixon administration.

"[8] One CEQ chief of staff under President Bush, Philip Cooney, was previously a lobbyist employed by the American Petroleum Institute.

[9] In June 2005, The New York Times published an internal CEQ memo provided by federal whistleblower Rick Piltz.

The memo showed Cooney had repeatedly edited government climate reports in order to play down links between emissions and global warming.

[16] Christy Goldfuss was appointed to succeed Boots, and served in the same capacity, as "managing director", until the end of Obama's term, in January 2017.

[27] In November 2024, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled in Marin Audubon Society v. FAA that the CEQ does not have the authority to create binding regulations under the National Environmental Policy Act.