Trump administration moves to dissolve national climate research lab in Colorado

The Trump administration has begun dismantling the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in Colorado, a move that has sparked significant concern among scientists and lawmakers. White House Budget Director Russ Vought announced the decision Tuesday night, stating that a comprehensive review of the lab is underway and that “vital activities such as weather research will be moved to another entity or location.”

NCAR, which houses the nation’s largest federal research program on climate change, is responsible for critical research that helps predict, prepare for, and respond to severe weather events and natural disasters. The center is managed by a nonprofit consortium representing more than 130 colleges and universities on behalf of the National Science Foundation.

According to a senior White House official who spoke on condition of anonymity, the administration’s decision stems from concerns about what they described as the lab’s “woke direction” and wasteful spending on “frivolous pursuits and ideologies.” The official cited two specific programs: an Indigenous and Earth Sciences center aimed at making sciences “more welcoming, inclusive, and justice-centered,” and research tracing air pollution that allegedly sought to “demonize motor vehicles, oil and gas operations.”

The decision has met with immediate pushback from climate scientists. Katharine Hayhoe, a Distinguished Professor at Texas Tech University, called NCAR “quite literally our global mothership” for climate science. “NCAR supports the scientists who fly into hurricanes, the meteorologists who develop new radar technology, the physicists who envision and code new weather models, and yes — the largest community climate model in the world,” Hayhoe said in a social media post. She warned that “dismantling NCAR is like taking a sledgehammer to the keystone holding up our scientific understanding of the planet.”

NCAR’s origins trace back to the post-World War II era when increasing interest in meteorology, solar observations, and atmospheric science led to its creation. The center initially focused on atmospheric chemistry and physical meteorology but saw its budget more than double between the 1980s and 1990s as federal focus on climate change research intensified.

Colorado Governor Jared Polis defended the institution, noting that “climate change is real, but the work of NCAR goes far beyond climate science.” The Democratic governor emphasized NCAR’s role in delivering data about severe weather events that helps “save lives and property and prevent devastation for families.” He warned that if the cuts move forward, “we will lose our competitive advantage against foreign powers and adversaries in the pursuit of scientific discovery.”

The White House has framed the move as “restoring the lab to its original purpose,” though it remains unclear how many of NCAR’s 830 employees and associated university programs will be affected by the decision.

This action follows another recent administration move targeting Colorado’s renewable energy research. Earlier this month, the National Renewable Energy Lab was renamed the “National Laboratory of the Rockies” and had its focus on wind and solar power removed. Assistant Energy Secretary Audrey Robertson stated that the Trump administration is “no longer picking and choosing energy sources.”

Colorado’s Democratic senators John Hickenlooper and Michael Bennet, along with Representative Joe Neguse, issued a joint statement condemning the administration’s decision. They described the move as “reckless” and “blatantly retaliatory,” arguing that it would have “devastating consequences for families in Colorado and communities across the nation.”

Antonio Busalacchi, president of the nonprofit consortium that manages NCAR, warned that dismantling the research lab “would set back our nation’s ability to predict, prepare for, and respond to severe weather and other natural disasters.”

The decision represents a significant shift in federal climate policy and raises questions about the future of climate and atmospheric research in the United States at a time when extreme weather events are becoming increasingly common and severe.