Story perspectives

Trump Names Geochemist to Lead Climate Program, Sparks Alarm

7/11/2026

Summary

Story summary

President Donald Trump appointed Matthew M. Wielicki, a geochemist who calls himself a “professor in exile,” to lead the Global Change Research Program (USGCRP).
The White House said it will restore the USGCRP after it was hollowed out in the Trump term.
Scientists Carlos Martinez and Ryan Katz-Rosene warned the appointment threatens the National Climate Assessment, which in 2023 linked warming to western wildfires, Great Plains droughts and heat waves.

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Story summary

President Donald Trump appointed Matthew M. Wielicki, a geochemist who calls himself a “professor in exile,” to lead the Global Change Research Program (USGCRP).
The White House said it will restore the USGCRP after it was hollowed out in the Trump term.
Scientists Carlos Martinez and Ryan Katz-Rosene warned the appointment threatens the National Climate Assessment, which in 2023 linked warming to western wildfires, Great Plains droughts and heat waves.