Stuart Levenbach, a former Trump official known for attempting to interfere with a congressionally mandated climate report, has returned to the White House in a new role that is expected to have a significant impact on the upcoming version of the assessment. Levenbach has been appointed as the associate director for natural resources, energy, science, and water in the Office of Management and Budget.
During the previous administration, Levenbach faced criticism from scientists for trying to downplay climate risks in the National Climate Assessment. His efforts to soften the language of the report’s summary and delay its release were ultimately unsuccessful, and the report was published in 2018.
Levenbach’s return to the White House comes at a time when the administration is looking to suppress climate science across federal agencies. The director of the OMB, Russ Vought, has expressed a desire to increase White House oversight over the National Climate Assessment, which is due to be released in 2026 or 2027. Vought has targeted the assessment as a threat to presidential power and aims to control it more closely to reduce its impact on litigation and federal regulations.
Levenbach’s previous attempts to alter the National Climate Assessment were met with resistance from federal researchers and scientists. Virginia Burkett, chair of the U.S. Global Change Research Program, filed a whistleblower complaint in 2024, alleging retaliatory actions against her for blocking changes to the report. Burkett’s advocacy played a crucial role in ensuring the report’s release.
Despite efforts to suppress the National Climate Assessment during the previous administration, the report was eventually published and received significant media coverage. However, the Trump administration tried to downplay its findings by releasing it on Black Friday.
Levenbach’s new role at the OMB is to ensure that agencies align with the President’s priorities. With the administration considering a challenge to the endangerment finding, which classifies greenhouse gases as a danger to public health, Levenbach’s influence on scientific endeavors could have far-reaching implications.
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This article is a rewritten version of the original content from E&E News, focusing on Stuart Levenbach’s return to the White House and his potential influence on climate science policy.
