Minnesota Scientist Claims Trump Administration Pressured Her

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A Minnesota scientist who leads an Environmental Protection Agency scientific advisory board says she was pressured by the agency's chief of staff to change her congressional testimony to downplay the Trump administration's decision not to reappoint half the panel's members.

Emails show that EPA Chief of Staff Ryan Jackson asked Deborah Swackhamer, who recently retired from the University of Minnesota, to stick to the agency's stance at a hearing last month that the decision on those appointments had not yet been made.

Democratic leaders of the House Science Committee have asked EPA Inspector General Arthur Elkins to investigate Jackson's actions, which they say were "inappropriate and may have violated federal regulations."

The Republican committee chairman says the EPA was just performing "due diligence" to ensure that Swackhamer's testimony was accurate.