Michael Kuperberg, the executive director of the U.S. Global Change Research Program, the group responsible for producing the National Climate Assessment, was removed from his position November 6th, according to Politico.
An email sent to Kuperberg by Politico got a bounce-back automatic reply stating that Kuperberg had returned to his position at the Department of Energy three days after the election. It was released immediately after the election that Betsy Weatherhead would henceforth lead the report, which coordinates contribution from 13 government agencies. Weatherhead worked for the US Geological Survey when she first joined the government from Jupiter International, a private climate science organization where she’s still listed on the Leadership page of the website.
The NCA is congressionally-mandated to be produced every four years, according to its charter, which was issued by the GHW Bush Administration in 1990, although only four have been released since then. The last one was released in 2018.
Kuperberg joined the program in 2015 and was expected to oversee the effort until the next report was published in 2023. Kuperberg was reportedly informed by email that his position at USGCRP was terminated on Friday, an move unexpected by Kuperberg and members of the program.