On December 16, 2020, Mallory was reported to be the nominee selected by President-elect Joe Biden to run the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) in his administration. Reuters wrote that Biden's choice "signals a focus by the incoming administration on environmental policies that would aim to ensure improved clean air and water for poor and minority communities that have historically taken the brunt of industrial pollution, and on pursuing Biden’s overarching plan to fight climate change."
