Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke’s High-School Friend Holding Up Climate Research, Say Scientists

U.S. scientists say they believe funding for their research is being help up due to a Trump administration rule that means projects have to be reviewed by a high-school football teammate of the U.S. interior secretary. At the start of 2018, Secretary Ryan Zinke announced that scientific funding above $50,000 must undergo additional reviews to make sure spending “better align[s] with the administration’s priorities.” Steve Howke, one of Zinke’s high-school football teammates, oversees this review, according to The Guardian. Until Zinke appointed him as a senior adviser, Howke spent his entire career working in credit unions and has no science background. “It does pose problems when you’re wanting to continue your research,” said Renee McPherson, a University of Oklahoma environmental researcher who focuses on explaining extreme weather. “[Our stakeholders] want answers sooner rather than later, especially if they’re undergoing severe drought conditions right now or they just had extensive flooding.”