"Despite congressional resistance, agency aims to cut research spending now"
"President Donald Trump’s administration is set to spend nearly $100 million, or 14% less, on the research arm of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) than the level mandated by Congress for this year, according to a budget document seen by Science.
These cuts, which would hit basic science on the weather, oceans, and—especially—climate, represent a “down payment” on the White House’s proposal to eliminate NOAA’s research arm in the 2026 fiscal year that begins on 1 October, agency officials have told employees.
NOAA, which is part of the Department of Commerce, has also begun to make other down payments on the proposed 2026 cuts, including sweeping reductions to its next-generation geostationary weather satellites, according to documents seen by Science and first reported by CNN. The administration is pushing ahead with the cuts despite a wholesale rejection of the White House’s 2026 budget request for NOAA by key spending panels in Congress. “This shows not to underestimate the malice that this administration has toward NOAA,” a former agency official told Science."
Paul Voosen reports for Science August 25, 2025.
Advertisement 
