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Last Update: 10/26/2026 at 11:33 PM EST
U.S. Climate Science Institutions
Coverage from The New Republic, Grist, and others
The U.
S. Global Change Research Program coordinates federal climate research and produces the congressionally mandated National Climate Assessment, a major source of information about risks such as extreme heat, wildfire, drought, flooding, and infrastructure impacts. Federal intervention has affected the program’s leadership, researchers, assessment process, online archives, data collection, and relationship to climate regulation and litigation. The appointment of climate-science critic Matthew Wielicki, alongside actions involving the next assessment and related federal climate findings, highlights a broader question: how should political authorities shape institutions responsible for producing and preserving authoritative climate information?
Looking Back
242 Day Timeline
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All Articles43 articles
Important
US government actions in 2025-2026 dismantle the USGCRP and disrupt climate research centers in the United States.
3/1/2026 • Policy, Politics & Governance • General
Former NOAA staff launched Climate.us after NOAA shutdown of Climate.gov, amid U.S. rollbacks that reduced access to climate assessments and EPA climate webpages.
7/7/2026 • Policy, Politics & Governance • General
Donald Trump ordered federal officials in a Truth Social post to consider blocking National Academies funding, amid House Science Committee disputes over extreme event attribution science and related court evidence.
7/22/2026 • Policy, Politics & Governance • General
On July 9, US Department of Energy Secretary Chris Wright announced Matthew Wielicki as USGCRP director as 2025 funding cuts and National Climate Assessment staff dismissals continued.
7/17/2026 • Policy, Politics & Governance • General
The Trump administration appointed Matthew M. Wielicki in 2025 to lead the U.S. Global Change Research Program that compiles the National Climate Assessment.
7/12/2026 • Policy, Politics & Governance • General
Matthew M. Wielicki was appointed in the 2020s to oversee the U.S. Global Change Research Program and the National Climate Assessment in the United States.
7/10/2026 • Policy, Politics & Governance • General
Environmental groups suing the U.S. Energy Department released emails showing Trump administration officials planning to involve climate contrarians in the National Climate Assessment process.
1/12/2026 • Policy, Politics & Governance • General
Matthew Wielicki appointed to lead the U.S. Global Change Research Program and National Climate Assessment as federal climate research offices and data collection are shut down.
7/10/2026 • Policy, Politics & Governance • General
Matthew Wielicki leads USGCRP as Trump administration changes staffing for the Sixth National Climate Assessment scheduled for 2028, after controversies around the 2009 Endangerment Finding.
7/9/2026 • Policy, Politics & Governance • General
Interesting
On an unspecified date, U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse urged the Federal Judicial Center in Washington, D.C., to restore removed climate science guidance for courts.
9/10/2026 • Policy, Politics & Governance • General
In 2025, NAS President Neil H. Shubin raised concerns about affiliations and oversight for a climate-science chapter published by NAS and the Federal Judicial Center.
9/8/2026 • Policy, Politics & Governance • General
White House appointed Matthew Wielicki in 2025 to oversee the U.S. Global Change Research Program and the National Climate Assessment, after climate science disputes and staffing changes.
7/15/2026 • Policy, Politics & Governance • General
Trump administration reconstituted the U.S. Global Change Research Program and appointed Matthew Wielicki to lead the National Climate Assessment.
7/9/2026 • Policy, Politics & Governance • General
R. Brooke Jackson enjoined NCAR supercomputing divestment in Colorado while National Science Foundation began decommissioning Ocean Observatories Initiative sensors in the Atlantic and Pacific during the 2020s.
6/6/2026 • Policy, Politics & Governance • General
In 2026, the Federal Judicial Center and National Academies removed a rigorously reviewed climate science chapter from a judicial reference manual after political and congressional pressure in the United States.
9/3/2026 • Policy, Politics & Governance • General
The National Academies removed a disputed climate attribution chapter from its judicial evidence manual in the United States pending an independent review of its development process.
8/11/2026 • Policy, Politics & Governance • General
Robin Rosenberg removed a climate science chapter from a Federal Judicial Center and National Academies Reference Manual after 27 Republican state attorneys general requested removal in January 2026.
3/30/2026 • Policy, Politics & Governance • General
Donald Trump ordered a suspension and debarment investigation into the National Academies climate publications in the 2020s amid federal science evidence and climate litigation disputes.
7/21/2026 • Policy, Politics & Governance • General
In Washington, D.C., the White House appointed Matthew M. Wielicki to lead USGCRP to resume NCA6 after a 2025 stop-work order.
7/13/2026 • Policy, Politics & Governance • General
Donald Trump appointed Matthew M. Wielicki to oversee the U.S. Global Change Research Program, responsible for the National Climate Assessment.
7/10/2026 • Policy, Politics & Governance • General
Trump appointed Matthew Wielicki in Washington, DC to lead the U.S. Global Change Research Program producing the National Climate Assessment amid prior assessment researcher dismissals and website removals.
7/9/2026 • Policy, Politics & Governance • General
Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird joined the Federal Judicial Center Foundation board after state attorneys general sought removal of a climate science chapter from a federal judicial education manual.
7/1/2026 • Policy, Politics & Governance • General
Former NOAA staff launched Climate.us in the United States in June 2025 to restore climate information access after Climate.gov shutdown.
6/28/2026 • Policy, Politics & Governance • General
Former NOAA staff launched Climate.us in 2025 to restore public access to U.S. climate data after Climate.gov shutdown, with Rebecca Lindsey leading.
6/26/2026 • Policy, Politics & Governance • General
Rob Bonta joined a coalition of 23 attorneys general and local governments urging the Federal Judicial Center to reinstate the 2025 Reference Guide on Climate Science.
6/3/2026 • Policy, Politics & Governance • General
Attorney General William Tong led a coalition of 23 attorneys general, cities of New York and Chicago, and Harris County, Texas in urging Federal Judicial Center reinstatement of climate science evidence guidance.
5/29/2026 • Policy, Politics & Governance • General
Rebecca Lindsey and former NOAA Climate.gov staff launched Climate.us after 2025 shutdowns restricted public access to NOAA climate archives.
6/26/2026 • Policy, Politics & Governance • General
The Trump administration terminated all 22 National Science Board members in the United States, prompting legal disputes and concerns about NSF oversight of climate and environmental research.
4/28/2026 • Policy, Politics & Governance • General
Donald Trump criticized National Academies climate science manuals for judges while recent reports described strengthened extreme-event attribution and more frequent clustered climate extremes in the USA.
7/20/2026 • Policy, Politics & Governance • General
Trump administration revived USGCRP and appointed Matthew Wielicki on July 9, reshaping the National Climate Assessment as litigation and EPA rulemaking disputes continue.
7/10/2026 • Policy, Politics & Governance • General
Benjamin Santer says U.S. attacks on the National Academy of Sciences and judicial climate evidence guidance reflect efforts to weaken climate science.
7/26/2026 • Policy, Politics & Governance • General
Climate.us launched an independent nonprofit climate information website in the United States featuring expert-reviewed climate resources and restored access to the Fifth National Climate Assessment.
6/23/2026 • Policy, Politics & Governance • General
The Federal Judicial Center removed the climate chapter from its Reference Manual on Scientific Evidence last week after criticism from state attorneys general, prompting concern about judicial access to vetted climate science in US courts.
2/10/2026 • Policy, Politics & Governance • General
Trump ordered review of the National Academy of Sciences Reference Manual on Scientific Evidence in response to disputes over a climate science chapter used by federal judges.
7/21/2026 • Policy, Politics & Governance • General
U.S. President Donald Trump ordered a review of Federal Judicial Center climate content in the Reference Manual for Scientific Evidence on July 19 amid prior chapter withdrawal.
7/20/2026 • Policy, Politics & Governance • General
Additional
Rebecca Lindsey leads climate.us, a nonprofit restoring climate.gov dashboards and climate literacy materials after NOAA shut down climate.gov following related staff reductions.
6/29/2026 • Policy, Politics & Governance • General
Donald Trump criticized a National Academies climate science chapter for federal judges, leading the Federal Judicial Center to withdraw it amid funding scrutiny and Supreme Court litigation in Boulder, Colorado.
7/20/2026 • Policy, Politics & Governance • General
Representative Harriet Hageman and Senator Ted Cruz are linked to the Stop Climate Shakedown Act as Climate.us launched a Global Climate Dashboard in the US on June 23.
6/28/2026 • Policy, Politics & Governance • General
Rebecca Lindsey-led Climate.us relaunches climate information after NOAA funding cuts and federal workforce reductions redirected Climate.gov content in 2025.
6/23/2026 • Policy, Politics & Governance • General
William Tong led a coalition of 23 Democratic attorneys general and local governments to ask the Federal Judicial Center to reinstate a climate science chapter removed from a judicial reference manual.
6/3/2026 • Policy, Politics & Governance • General
The Trump administration fired the National Science Board immediately in a legal-appointment dispute, drawing criticism over proposed NSF and climate-research funding cuts.
5/2/2026 • Policy, Politics & Governance • General
Climate.gov resources were restored on climate.us by former administrators and volunteers in the USA after a NOAA redirect following federal actions.
6/23/2026 • Policy, Politics & Governance • General
West Virginia Attorney General JB McCuskey reported that Federal Judicial Center Director Judge Robin L. Rosenberg confirmed omission of a climate science chapter from the Reference Manual on Scientific Evidence, Fourth Edition.
3/23/2026 • Policy, Politics & Governance • General