Report: EPA chief almost resigned after Obama shelved smog rule

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lisa Jackson almost resigned after the White House scuttled proposed smog rules earlier this month, the New York Post reported Monday.

Jackson spent two days considering whether to step down after Obama announced that he would shelve the proposed regulations, which would have tightened ozone regulations put in place by President George W. Bush's administration in 2008.

“She was very upset. She didn’t know what she was going to do,” an administration official told the newspaper.

But Jackson ultimately decided not to quit, the Post reported.

“But by the time she traveled with Obama to view hurricane damage on Sept. 4, Jackson had cooled and was telling intimates she was determined to stay,” the report said.

Obama’s decision to scuttle the ozone regulations came amid intense pressure from top officials at industry groups, who argued that the rules would burden the already ailing economy.

Environmental and clean air groups blasted the administration’s decision.

"The Obama administration is caving to big polluters at the expense of protecting the air we breathe,” League of Conservation Voters President Gene Karpinski said at the time. “This is a huge win for corporate polluters and huge loss for public health."

In a statement, EPA spokesman Brendan Gilfillan said, "The rumor mill was off on this one. This administration has a tremendous record on the environment and a lot more work left to do. Administrator Jackson said she's not going anywhere, and she isn't."

— This story was updated at 11:50 a.m.