Ali Zaidi (lawyer)

Since February 2009, Zaidi served for eight years in a number of roles within the Obama administration, including the White House Domestic Policy Council’s (DPC) deputy director for energy policy and policy aide to U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu and as special projects coordinator at the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB).[3]

As the DPC deputy director for energy policy, Zaidi handled a range of issues on the White House's domestic policy team. Zaidi worked on the design and implementation of federal policies and the development of public and private sector partnerships to increase U.S. energy security and cut harmful carbon pollution. His portfolio covered policy matters related to supply of and demand for energy - including policies that reduce U.S. dependence on foreign oil by promoting responsible federal-lands production and adoption of alternative fuels; and policies that create jobs by advancing research and deployment of clean energy and energy efficiency technologies - as well as the intersection of these matters with the President's Climate Action Plan.[3]

Zaidi was associate director for natural resources, energy, and science at the Office of Management and Budget. Zaidi supported development and execution of the President’s economic and environmental policy, and led a team of experts overseeing a wide array of policy, budget, and management issues – including issues related to energy, agriculture, infrastructure, conservation, and technology – across a nearly $100 billion portfolio. In this role, Zaidi also served as OMB’s chief policy official for implementation of the President’s Climate Action Plan, which he helped design and draft.[4]

In February 2017, Zaidi joined the law firm Morrison & Foerster as a senior advisor in their Washington, D.C. office.[5] He is a Precourt Scholar and adjunct professor at Stanford University.[2][6] Zaidi is the New York deputy secretary for energy and environment, where he works with the governor on climate policy and finance.[6]

Zaidi is the Deputy White House National Climate Advisor, where he serves under Gina McCarthy.[6] The Economic Times noted that Zaidi will be the highest-ranking Pakistani-American in the Biden administration.[7]