The administrator is nominated by the president of the United States and must be confirmed by a vote of the Senate.

The administrator of the EPA is equivalent to the position of Minister of the Environment in other countries.

There have been various proposals to make the EPA a full executive department.

They are not subject to Senate confirmation to serve as the acting administrator, though to continue to serve as a full-fledged administrator (as in the case of Lee M. Thomas or Stephen L. Johnson), they must be confirmed by the Senate.

The line of succession for the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency is as follows:[4]