Trump Administration Bars State Dept. Official From Testifying

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Let’s face it: a president who believes that the moon is part of Mars is never going to understand the difference between weather and climate is not fit to lead the country while the effects of climate change rapidly speeds the planet toward inhabitiability. A White House that blocks any information that doesn’t adhere to that president’s views is dangerous for human survival.

A plan to inform Congress about the disastrous effects of climate change by the State Department was thwarted by the Trump administration, who blocked written testimony warning that the human causes of climate change may be “catastrophic.”

The Washington Post reports that:

‘White House officials barred a State Department intelligence staffer from submitting written testimony this week to the House Intelligence Committee warning that human-caused climate change could be “possibly catastrophic” after State officials refused to excise the document’s refererences to the scientific consensus on climate change.’

In pursuit of the almighty dollar, Trump wants his plans for the economy to go unimpeded by scientists who warn that we’re destroying the planet. After all, Trump has already made it clear that money is his focus and he doesn’t understand science, anyway. However, blocking that information from those who make laws and do understand the needs for scientific evidence is an all-new way to cause harm.

‘The effort to edit, and ultimately suppress, the written testimony of a senior analyst at the State Department’s Bureau of Intelligence and Research comes as the Trump administration is debating how to best challenge the idea that the burning of fossil fuels is warming the planet and could pose serious risks unless the world makes deep cuts in greenhouse gas emissions over the next decade. Senior military and intelligence officials have continued to warn climate change could undermine America’s national security, a position President Trump rejects.’

As much as Trump likes to brag about putting America first and keeping us all safe from terrorists (but only the brown ones because they don’t vote for him), he’s ignoring the biggest threat to national security there is. No matter how many times this is explained to him and to the GOP, they continue to brag about Trump rolling back environmental regulations as if that’s a good thing.

According to Think Progress, officials have stated that:

‘If you integrate over time, 20, 30, 40 years, I’d be hard pressed to say that it’s not in the top 2 or 3 [global threats],” said Rod Schoonover, a State Department intelligence official.’

Featured image via Flickr by Gage Skidmore under a Creative Commons license