A job that’s been held by some of the nation’s top scientists is now occupied by a 31-year-old politics major from Princeton University.
More than a year into his term, Trump hasn’t identified a potential nominee for the key position held by prominent scientists in Republican and Democratic administrations alike. And it stands to get harder. There’s a razor-thin margin for Senate approval, and Trump’s critics and supporters could complicate the confirmation of anyone who rejects mainstream climate science.
That means the job falls to Michael Kratsios, the deputy assistant in the Office of Science and Technology Policy. At least for now. Kratsios graduated from Princeton in 2008 with a political science degree and a focus on Hellenic studies. He previously served as chief of staff to Peter Thiel, the controversial Silicon Valley billionaire and Trump ally.
The vacancy might reflect Trump’s skepticism on climate change. If the president believes that the Senate would balk at a nominee who questions widely accepted views on climate change, he might prefer to leave the post open, said William Happer, an emeritus physics professor at Princeton University who is considered a leading candidate for the job. Happer says the Earth is experiencing a “CO2 famine.”
“There is no problem from CO2,” Happer said last month in an interview with E&E News (Climatewire, Jan. 25).
The Senate showed its disapproval with ideological science nominees earlier this month. Kathleen Hartnett White, Trump’s pick to lead the Council on Environmental Quality, withdrew when faced with flagging Senate support. White denied that carbon dioxide was a pollutant, calling it the “gas of life” instead.
Read the full story at Scientific American
