John Kerry, a former senator and Obama secretary of state currently serving as President Biden’s special climate envoy, is “actively considering” departing the White House in the near future, Axios reported Thursday evening. Kerry, 78, could depart the Biden administration as early as next month, following the United Nations’ Climate Change Conference, or COP27, to be hosted Nov. 6-18 in Egypt. Weighing a shift to the private sector, the one-time Democratic nominee for president has been asking those in his inner circle how to remain involved in climate efforts, even as he eyes a game plan to increase his personal net worth, according to Axios. The outlet also referenced Kerry’s fears of a Republican-controlled Senate or House as a reason for a potential departure, given that he could be dragged before one legislative body or the other to answer questions about his own climate emissions, including his family’s private plane. (Fox News reported in July that the Kerry family’s Gulfstream GIV-SP had emitted more than 300 metric tons of carbon since Biden took office.) Kerry has also reportedly been insinuating that he’s reached the end of the line in terms of what’s possible to achieve in his current role, given the current political environment.
