Explainer

How Trump’s NOAA Fight Is So Much Bigger Than the Weather

A Senior Hurricane Specialist at the National Hurricane Center works on tracking Hurricane Beryl at the National Hurricane Center in Miami, Florida, on July 1.Photographer: Joe Raedle/Getty Images

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By Lauren Rosenthal and Brian K Sullivan

February 13, 2025 at 3:02 PM UTC

This article is for subscribers only.

The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA, has emerged as a target of President Donald Trump’s program of downsizing the federal workforce and imposing new restrictions on executive branch agencies.

NOAA is a scientific research and regulatory agency best known for providing daily weather forecasts through its National Weather Service. The terabytes of weather and climate data the agency collects every day are used by companies, scientists and governments around the world.