John Konkus, a political appointee reviewing grant solicitations and proposals at the EPA, is cutting references to climate change—and canceling competitively awarded grants.
What Happened: A political appointee of the Trump administration, Mr. John Konkus, is reviewing grant solicitations and proposals at the Environmental Protection Agency. Mr. Konkus has canceled nearly $2 million worth of grant funding competitively awarded to outside institutions, and has told staff to eliminate “climate change” from grant solicitations.
Why it Matters: It is unusual for a political appointee to eliminate scientifically defensible language from grant solicitations and not fund proposals recommended by agency experts. Mr. Konkus does not have a scientific background, yet he is determining the direction of scientific work that is funded by the EPA, sidelining scientific experts’ recommendations, and putting the public’s health at risk by eliminating the agency’s climate change work.