Days of heavy downpours flooded Frankfort, Ky., and other communities across the Midwest in spring 2025.

(LOS ANGELES) In early July 2026, the Trump administration quietly tapped Matthew Wielicki to lead the U.S. Global Change Research Program. The move places a podcaster known for downplaying the threats of climate change – and importantly, someone who has not been meaningfully involved in research on climate change or its impacts – at the top of one of the country’s most important scientific enterprises, one mandated by federal law.

Under the law, the Global Change Research Program – USGCRP for short – is required to prepare and submit a National Climate Assessment to the president and Congress at least every four years. Its purpose is to help the country’s businesses, communities and governments at all levels make better decisions about how to respond to the growing risks posed by climate change.

Originally published on theconversation.com, part of the BLOX Digital Content Exchange.

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