The Trump administration has reinstated the U.S. Global Change Research Program, appointing a climate skeptic to oversee the National Climate Assessment, a key report that influences federal climate policy. This move marks a significant reversal after the program was effectively dismantled the previous year.
Dr. Matthew Wielicki, a geochemist formerly affiliated with the University of Alabama and known for his critical views on mainstream climate science, will now lead the office responsible for the congressionally mandated assessment. This report evaluates climate change’s impact on American infrastructure, agriculture, water resources, and the economy, forming a foundational basis for regulations and legal actions linked to environmental protection and climate policy.
The U.S. Global Change Research Program was established under the Global Change Research Act of 1990, bringing together multiple federal agencies to coordinate climate research and produce a comprehensive report every four years. Despite its importance, the program faced severe cutbacks in 2025 when the Trump administration shut down the globalchange.gov website, ended contracts supporting the program’s technical staff, and halted production on the sixth National Climate Assessment.
The relaunch of the program under Wielicki continues a strategy outlined by the White House budget director, who criticized the office for promoting what he termed climate alarmism. This plan was detailed in Project 2025, a policy guide calling for closer executive control over federal climate research. Wielicki’s scientific credentials are not in question; rather, controversy stems from his dissenting conclusions on climate science, which contrast with the prevailing consensus used in previous assessments.
Politico reported that a team of researchers under Energy Secretary Chris Wright recently proposed a rewritten assessment after publishing a critical review of greenhouse gas impacts on U.S. climate. This group raised concerns about the current report’s conclusions, underscoring ongoing debates over the scientific interpretation underpinning federal climate evaluations.
The reestablishment of the Global Change Research Program under skeptical leadership illustrates a deliberate shift in federal climate science oversight. Control over this influential assessment has been contested across multiple administrations, reflecting deep political divides on climate policy and scientific consensus.