White House climate official Jane Lubchenco has been barred for the next five years from the National Academy of Sciences, which determined she violated its code of conduct in a prior role before joining the administration last year.
Ms. Lubchenco, deputy director for climate and environment at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, edited a paper for NAS that was later retracted because it contained outdated information and was co-written by her brother-in-law.
The move to rebuke the climate official and prohibit her from NAS publications and activities came last week after the conservative American Accountability Foundation inquired NAS about the misconduct back in January.
Congressional Republicans questioned the White House earlier this year whether her current role of “developing and overseeing this administration’s best practices for scientific integrity” was appropriate, given her recent past.
The paper she edited was retracted in October 2021.
In a widely shared statement to media outlets, Ms. Lubchenco acknowledged the violation and accepted responsibility.
“I accept these sanctions for my error in judgment in editing a paper authored by some of my research collaborators — an error for which I have publicly stated my regret,” she said.
The White House did not respond to a request for comment.
American Accountability Foundation founder Tom Jones said that in addition to the sanction by NAS, Ms. Lubchenco should either resign from her White House position or be fired.
“The American people deserve leaders in the White House who don’t use their positions of influence to put their thumb on the scales for friends and family,” Mr. Jones said in a statement. “Dr. Jane Lubchenco does not meet that standard and does not deserve to be an Assistant to the President.”
• Ramsey Touchberry can be reached at rtouchberry@washingtontimes.com.
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