Following EPA head Lisa Jackson's resignation at the end of December, President Obama will nominate Gina McCarthy as her successor.
McCarthy will become the Environmental Protection Agency's new administrator, following her role as head of the air and radiation office.
A White House official has also confirmed to the Washington Post that MIT professor Ernest Moniz will be the new energy secretary.
Both McCarthy and Moniz have significant experience with energy initiatives.
McCarthy had helped Jackson usher through new standards limiting mercury and soot emissions from power plants, while Moniz directed MIT's Energy Initiative, where he oversaw reports on almost every aspect of energy.
Importantly, McCarthy is also regarded as politically savvy and has a strong working relationship with business leaders--at a time when many businesses are critical of the EPA's regulations and restrictions.
Her sense of humor and blunt delivery has also made her popular with skeptics, so her appointment is seen as advantageous to the oft-criticized department.
Ernest Moniz will replace Steven Chu, who resigned on February 1 2013, having served as Secretary of Energy since 2009.
Moniz previously served as Associate Director for Science under the Bill Clinton administration, so brings with him prior Washington experience.
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