The Trump administration is seeking a sweeping overhaul of the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), with a dramatic proposal that would gut its climate and weather research operations and reallocate key functions across other federal agencies. The research is considered crucial in the fight to combat the climate crisis. 

Internal budget documents seen by CNN and the New York Times indicate that the changes, though aimed at the 2026 fiscal year, could take effect immediately.

The budget blueprint, obtained by multiple media outlets, calls for NOAA’s research division – Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR) – to be entirely dismantled. This office, widely respected as a global leader in environmental science, would see its funding slashed by roughly 75%, from approximately $485mn to just over $170mn.

The move would cripple scientific studies into severe weather events, ocean acidification and climate patterns, while also drastically reducing resources for public education and early warning systems.

"At this funding level, OAR is eliminated as a line office," the document reads, said CNN.

The proposed changes arrive during a period of increasingly extreme and costly weather phenomena, and critics warn they would endanger American lives, weaken disaster preparedness and stall innovation across sectors that rely on NOAA’s data.

In a statement Democratic Maryland Senator Chris Van Hollen voiced strong opposition, saying: “This move has nothing to do with efficiency – and in fact, it will endanger our communities and leave us all more vulnerable to destructive and costly natural disasters.”

Major disruptions across NOAA

Under the proposed plan, the majority of remaining OAR programmes would be redistributed to other NOAA offices. For instance, research on tornado warnings might shift to the National Weather Service, while studies on ocean acidification could fall under the National Ocean Service.

In parallel, other core NOAA branches would also be hit hard. The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) would have its budget reduced by one third. Its operations would be moved under the Interior Department’s US Fish and Wildlife Service. This reorganisation would eliminate grants supporting endangered species and habitat recovery.

Furthermore, the National Ocean Service would see its funding halved. Programmes such as the National Centres for Coastal Ocean Science, which investigates the impact of sea-level rise and marine pollution, would be defunded entirely.

Even the National Centres for Environmental Information, which manages archives of climate data, faces a 25% cut.

The former NOAA head under President Biden, Rick Spinrad, expressed concern: “It’s not surprising, but it’s very disturbing,” he told the New York Times.

The Office of Space Commerce, currently tasked with overseeing satellite traffic and related research, would be dismantled. Its flagship project – the Traffic Coordination System for Space – would be passed to private hands, ending collaboration with NASA on weather satellite acquisition.

The Space Weather Prediction Centre, which tracks solar flares and radiation events that can disrupt power grids and communications, would be shifted to the Department of Homeland Security.

According to the budget documents, NMFS should begin prioritising permits for oil and gas activities, with a specific focus on enabling offshore drilling. The stated goal is to “unleash American energy,” echoing the administration’s broader push to reshape regulatory oversight in favour of fossil fuel development.

An ideological agenda?

The cuts are being justified as part of a wider attempt to balance the federal budget and align government spending with what the administration claims is the “expressed will of the American people.” However, the budget text includes politically charged language referencing the elimination of “woke ideology.”

The document appears to draw on Project 2025, a plan developed by the Heritage Foundation, which advocates for a major reshaping of federal agencies. The blueprint singles out NOAA’s climate research as a source of "alarmism" and recommends it be scaled back dramatically.

Representative Zoe Lofgren, ranking Democrat on the House Science Committee, responded harshly: “This administration’s hostility toward research and rejection of climate science will have the consequence of eviscerating the weather forecasting capabilities that this plan claims to preserve.”

She also questioned the motive behind the dismantling of NOAA’s infrastructure: “It begs the question, is the Trump Administration intentionally breaking our weather forecasting capabilities as an excuse to carry out the dangerous Project 2025 proposal to privatise the Weather Service?”

Craig McLean, who served as NOAA’s chief scientist under both Trump and Biden, told the New York Times: “It would take the US back to the 1950s in technical and scientific skill.”

While the proposal is framed as a forward-looking budget strategy for 2026, NOAA has reportedly been instructed to begin enacting changes even before congressional approval. The Department of Commerce, which oversees NOAA, has already begun notifying employees of terminations, including those recently reinstated by a judge after previous layoffs. A new round of staff reductions – estimated to affect 20% of the workforce – is expected in the coming weeks.

Despite the sweeping nature of the proposed cuts, the final outcome remains uncertain. Former NOAA administrator Spinrad remains hopeful: “I don’t think it will withstand congressional scrutiny.”

NOAA had until midday on 15 April to challenge the proposal and until 24 April to deliver preliminary plans for reorganisation, even though the changes have not yet passed through Congress.