The center “has played a key role in developing the science of climate modeling and the measurement of climate observations going back more than a half-century,” added Mann. The Trump administration’s move is “symbolic of the actual destruction of knowledge,” he said.

President Donald Trump has installed plaques underneath portraits of presidents at the White House, using them to insult and make unfounded claims about some of his predecessors including Joe Biden and Barack Obama -- the latest in a series of controversial White House changes under Trump.