Democratic members of the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology urged President Trump to stop relying on “misinformation and fake news” in a Thursday letter.
The letter, first reported by Popular Science, claims that the president has left himself vulnerable to misinformation by not appointing a director to the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) and not fully staffing the department.
“You have a tool at your disposal in this regard, should you make use of it, in this Office of Science and Technology Policy,” the letter reads.
{mosads}“If you appoint a qualified OSTP director, you will have a reliable source of policy advice for matters related to science and technology.”
The Trump administration has earned criticism for its stances on energy and the environment. The Environmental Protection Agency dismissed various scientists from its advisory board earlier this month, prompting two other board members to resign in protest.
Trump’s Interior Department froze the work of over 200 members of its advisory boards, committees and subcommittees, a third of which cover science-related issues.
Trump claimed in 2012 that climate change is a “Chinese hoax.” In April, thousands of people gathered in D.C. for two marches criticizing Trump’s stances on science and climate change.