Politics

State Department science envoy resigns with dig at Trump

Key Points
  • Daniel Kammen, a professor of energy at the University of California, Berkeley, tweeted he will be departing from his role as a science envoy to the State Department.
  • Several sharp-eyed Twitter users spotted a curious acrostic from the first letter in each paragraph that seemed to spell out a message about Donald Trump: "IMPEACH."
  • Kammen has served in various roles for the Department of Energy, the Environmental Protection Agency and the State Department since 1996.
Dr. David Kammen Professor of Engery University of California, Berkeley.
Source: YouTube

A member of the State Department's science envoy program resigned Wednesday and took a parting shot at the president on his way out.

Daniel Kammen, a professor of energy at the University of California, Berkeley, tweeted early Wednesday he is departing from his role as a science envoy to the State Department.

In his accompanying resignation letter, several sharp-eyed Twitter users spotted a curious acrostic from the first letter in each paragraph that seemed to spell out a message about Donald Trump: "IMPEACH."

@dan_kammen: Mr. President, I am resigning as Science Envoy. Your response to Charlottesville enables racism, sexism, & harms our country and planet.

Kammen has served in various roles for the Department of Energy, the Environmental Protection Agency and the State Department since 1996.

Asked for comment, State Department spokeswoman Julia Mason said: "Today, Dr. Daniel Kammen made a personal decision to resign. We appreciate his dedicated service to U.S. scientific diplomacy during his appointment working on energy efficiency and renewable energy in Africa as a Science Envoy."

The science envoy program website notes Kammen's work in renewable energies. Reviving the coal industry was a major campaign issue for Trump. In late March, he signed an executive order reversing the Obama administration's Clean Power Plan, which would have closed coal-fired power plants and frozen construction on new ones while replacing them with wind and solar farms.

Last week, a business council advising Trump disbanded after a string of high-profile resignations, starting with Merck CEO Kenneth Frazier, following Trump's response to the racist violence in Charlottesville.

The State Department's website lists six other science envoys.