Senate confirms Trump's science and tech adviser after lengthy vacancy

Senate lawmakers late Wednesday confirmed Kelvin Droegemeier, an extreme-weather expert, as the White House's top science and tech adviser, filling a critical administration role that had been vacant for nearly two years under President Trump. Droegemeier, who had served as a top meteorologist at the University of Oklahoma, is set to become leader of the Office of Science and Technology Policy, an arm of the White House that helps guide federal research spending and informs the government's policies in areas such as artificial intelligence, climate change, precision medicine and online privacy. Before the Senate confirmed Droegemeier by voice vote, the vacancy at OSTP under Trump had set a record: Never before had a modern president waited so long to install an administrator in that office. The delay had drawn sharp criticism from lawmakers and academics, who said the president had erred by forging ahead with his policy agenda -- including his 2017 decision to leave a key international carbon-reduction pact -- without a top science adviser in place. But Trump's decision in July to nominate Droegemeier -- who previously helped guide federal science research under both Democratic and Republican presidents -- earned the White House widespread accolades from the research community.