Trump administration dismisses all authors of major climate report, throwing US assessment into limbo, By Andrew Freedman, Updated Apr 29, 2025
In an aerial view, residential areas destroyed by the Eaton Fire are seen on Jan. 19, 2025 in Altadena, California. Brandon Bell/Getty Images
The Trump administration has dismissed all the scientists and other authors working on the next authoritative look at how climate change is affecting the United States, according to an email sent to authors Monday and confirmed by CNN.
The move will allow the administration to either skip the congressionally mandated report altogether, or pursue an alternative, potentially far more skeptical take on what is otherwise widely accepted climate science. The latter would fly in the face of the overwhelming scientific evidence pointing to the threats global warming poses to the US.
The last National Climate Assessment came out in 2023. It found that climate change is already transforming every region of the country, with more frequent and intense extreme weather events and a slew of other costly and harmful effects.
During the first Trump administration, the Fourth Assessment came out after being worked on mainly under the Obama White House. Trump officials sought to deep-six the findings by publishing it the day after Thanksgiving.
Congress mandated these reports — conducted by a mix of federal and outside scientists under the US Global Change Research Program — be produced every four years. The next is due by 2027.
