Trump eyes major cuts to NOAA research
The Trump administration is eyeing cuts to climate, weather and ocean research in a draft budget blueprint for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
A draft document from the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) obtained by The Hill shows the administration wants to eliminate NOAA’s Oceanic and Atmospheric Research and cut 74 percent of its funding.
The document, a proposal for the agency’s 2026 budget, says it wants to eliminate “all funding” for climate, weather and ocean laboratories and cooperative institutes, as well as funding for regional climate data.
It still provides funding for programs that research weather and tornadoes and suggests moving them to the offices within NOAA.
The proposal suggests a 27 percent overall cut in NOAA’s funding. The federal budget typically needs to be approved by Congress and is subject to the filibuster, making it generally a somewhat bipartisan process.
However, as the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency seeks to make cuts and firings at agencies across the board, the document could provide a roadmap for forthcoming layoffs the agency will take on.
The document states that agency plans to reorganize and fire employees should be “consistent with FY2026 Budget funding levels and policy” and “position the agency to implement the president’s budget.”
It also says they should “achieve the necessary [employee] reductions and agency reorganizations that, at a minimum, reflect the assumed [employee] levels and administrative efficiencies supported by the FY 2026 President's budget request.”
The document in question is known as a passback, which the White House sends back to the agency. The document gives the agency until April 15 to suggest changes.