Trump administration fires all contributors to the government's top climate report

The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump fired all contributors of the most important U.S. government study that guides all local and federal administrations on the most efficient way to prepare for the impacts generated by climate change. The number of employees laid off was 400 in total, all from the sixth National Climate Assessment, which is mandated by Congress. These dismissals, which were done through an email sent to each of the collaborators, cast doubt on the future of the study, taking into account that different media outlets revealed that the report, which had been in preparation for several years and was being peer-reviewed, was due to be published in 2028.

"At this time, the scope of the NCA6 is being evaluated in accordance with the Global Change Research Act of 1990," states the email by the Trump administration, in reference to the legislation that initiated the evaluations and which was signed by Republican President George H.W. Bush during his second presidency.

Guidance on climate change issues

According to several media reports, the Global Change Research Program, which was dismantled by the Trump administration in early April, and which was responsible for coordinating input from 14 federal agencies and hundreds of scientists, oversaw the report's climate assessment. The findings they had determined so far were intended to guide both lawmakers and federal agencies in making decisions on climate issues, including not only funding priorities but also different types of policies.

The Republican administration has been drastically cutting scientific research in different areas, as part of its massive cuts, with the aim of rapidly solving what both Trump and several members of his administration have called wasteful spending. The latest assessment by the study's contributors, which was published in 2023, noted that climate change was posing an economic problem by creating costs for Americans and even increasing the prices of certain foods and weather-related insurance.