The Trump administration is moving to dismantle a world-class climate and weather research institution in Colorado, the latest salvo in President Donald Trump’s war on science.
White House Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought announced the plan Tuesday night on social media.
“The National Science Foundation will be breaking up the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in Boulder, Colorado,” wrote Vought. “A comprehensive review is underway & any vital activities such as weather research will be moved to another entity or location.”
Vought also accused NCAR of producing “climate alarmism.” The move follows nearly a year of the Trump administration rolling back environmental initiatives, and Trump in a United Nations speech calling climate change the “greatest con job ever perpetrated on the world.”
The state-of-the-art research lab in Colorado studies Earth’s climate, including how to better predict severe weather, develop air quality forecasts, model flooding and predict droughts, study and predict wildfire behavior, and study how solar storms impact Earth.
Antonio Busalacchi, the president of the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research, which manages NCAR on behalf of the National Science Foundation, said any plans had yet to be communicated to the facility.
“We do not have additional information about any such plan,” Busalacchi said in a statement.
Dismantling NCAR would greatly damage America’s ability to predict and respond to severe weather and natural disasters, he noted.
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Around 800 scientists and support personnel work at the center, which was established in 1960.
“NSF NCAR’s research is crucial for building American prosperity by protecting lives and property, supporting the economy, and strengthening national security,” he said. “Any plans to dismantle NSF NCAR would set back our nation’s ability to predict, prepare for, and respond to severe weather and other natural disasters.”
On Tuesday, the Trump administration also canceled $109 million in federal transportation grants for Colorado, including a $66 million grant set to pay for a critical rail safety mechanism in the northern part of the state.
Rep. Joe Neguse (D-Colo.), whose district includes NCAR, and Colorado Sens. Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper, both Democrats, slammed the reports in a joint statement.
“Efforts to dismantle this institution and its essential programs are deeply dangerous and blatantly retaliatory,” they said. “We intend to fight back against attempts to gut this cutting-edge research institution with every tool we have.”
The moves coincide with President Donald Trump’s promise to retaliate against Colorado if Gov. Jared Polis (D) didn’t pardon and release Tina Peters, a former county clerk serving nine years in prison for orchestrating a scheme to breach voting machine data driven by false claims of fraud in the 2020 election.
The Trump administration has attempted to move Peters to federal custody and granted her a pretend pardon last week.
On Monday, Trump baselessly accused Polis of being “run by Tren de Aragua,” a Venezuelan gang, and also called him “pathetic” and “weak.”
Polis seems unlikely to respond to the threats and reiterated that Peters should be treated the same as any other inmate.
