Federal science leaders and Boulder-based researchers are reacting with alarm and skepticism after a senior Trump administration official publicly suggested dismantling the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), a cornerstone of federally funded climate and weather research based in Boulder.
Russell Vought, director of the Office of Management and Budget, said Tuesday, Dec. 16, that the administration intends to “break up” NCAR, calling it “one of the largest sources of climate alarmism in the country” in a post on X. Vought said a review is underway and suggested that some research activities could be relocated.
The comments, first reported by USA Today, immediately raised questions about what authority the administration has to act, and whether dismantling NCAR would comply with existing law or congressional budget agreements.
Founded in Boulder in 1960, NCAR is an international leader in Earth system science and provides research tools and modeling capacity to universities and governments worldwide. The center is funded by the National Science Foundation and administered by the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research. Its Boulder headquarters employs about 830 people, according to USA Today. It remains unclear how many employees could be affected.
Project 2025, the conservative policy blueprint co-authored by Vought, has previously labeled federal climate research “alarmism,” and called for the dismantling of much of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s research arm, including climate-focused work.
“Science and research can sometimes be alarming,” said Dan Powers, executive director of CO-LABS, which promotes Colorado research. “However, closing labs like NCAR doesn’t make decades of facts any less true. The dismantling of NCAR would set back our country’s ability to understand and prepare for extreme weather.”
NCAR is funded by the National Science Foundation and operated by the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research, a nonprofit consortium of universities. Neither the White House nor OMB has explained whether an attempt to dismantle NCAR would comply with existing or future congressional budget directives.
On Dec. 17, the NSF published a short statement announcing it would be engaging with stakeholders on “rescoping the functions of the work currently performed by NCAR” and would “publish a Dear Colleague Letter that will inform the agency’s follow-on actions.” Those actions include transferring NSF assets away from NCAR and redefining “the scope of modeling and forecasting research and operations.”
This is not the first time the Trump administration has targeted federal science institutions in Boulder because of their work on climate-related research. Earlier this year, about 80 employees at NOAA labs were laid off without warning as part of broader federal workforce cuts. Over the summer, the administration also proposed deep reductions to NOAA and NCAR research budgets in its request to Congress.
While those proposed cuts were largely rejected, House Republicans have advanced an early budget framework that would reduce funding for the National Science Foundation by about 10%. Congress is still negotiating a full federal budget for 2026.
Why the comments came now
Trump has long criticized federal climate research, repeatedly calling climate change a “hoax” and a “con job.” This, however, marks the administration’s first public move to target a specific federal research institution in Boulder, rather than proposing broad cuts to climate research nationwide.
Vought’s comments came as Boulder County was experiencing extreme fire weather.
The day after the comments, Xcel Energy carried out the first of two public safety power shutoffs in a week, cutting power across large areas of the county during a high-wind event amid hot, dry conditions that scientists say are becoming more common as the climate warms.
“What we know about downslope windstorms today is essential knowledge that has come from folks who’ve worked at NCAR over the past 20, 30, 40 years,” Andrew Winters, a CU Boulder assistant professor in atmospheric science, told Boulder Reporting Lab. That research has informed airline safety, improved forecasting and deepened understanding of mitigation efforts, he said.
The comments also came amid heightened tensions between the Trump administration and Colorado officials following Trump’s public statements about Tina Peters, a Republican Mesa County election official who was sentenced to nine years in prison for allowing unauthorized access to county voting equipment.
On Dec. 11, Trump posted on Truth Social that he was granting Peters a “full pardon” for what he falsely described as her efforts “to expose Voter Fraud in the Rigged 2020 Presidential Election.” Peters was convicted on state charges, and presidents do not have the authority to issue pardons for state crimes.
Days later, on Dec. 15, Trump criticized Colorado Gov. Jared Polis in statements from the Oval Office, calling him “a weak and pathetic man who was run by Tren de Aragua,” a Venezuelan gang the president has repeatedly referenced in immigration enforcement rhetoric.
On Dec. 16, a senior White House official told several news outlets in response to questions about NCAR, “Maybe if Colorado had a governor who actually wanted to work with President Trump, his constituents would be better served.”
“It’s certainly not a strategic decision based on protecting America’s scientific leadership,” Powers said.
Elected officials, scientists and advocates push back
Rep. Joe Neguse, writing on X, called the move a “deeply dangerous & blatantly retaliatory action by the Trump administration.” In a joint press release with Sens. John Hickenlooper and Michael Bennet, he later added, “We intend to fight back against attempts to gut this cutting-edge research institution with every tool we have.”
The lawmakers are exploring strategies to counter the proposed dismantling of NCAR, including adding amendments or riders to upcoming funding bills or other must-pass legislation. Neguse is also investigating whether he can take legal action in his role as chair of the House Litigation Task Force and considering subpoenas for administration officials to get them to testify about the motivation behind dismantling NCAR, in the hopes of exposing what he has described as a retaliatory move.
A “Save NCAR” petition from the AGU, a global community of Earth and space scientists and advocates, also announced that members of Congress are working on “potential language to protect NCAR” in a 2026 appropriations bill and Neguse and Colorado Republican Rep. Jeff Hurd are “circulating a bipartisan, bicameral Dear Colleague Letter to show support for NCAR.”
Polis’ office said it had not received information about any planned cut but warned in a statement that, “If true, public safety is at risk and science is being attacked. Climate change is real, but the work of NCAR goes far beyond climate science. NCAR delivers data around severe weather events like fires and floods that help our country save lives and property, and prevent devastation for families.”
A representative for Polis’ office did not address questions about Tina Peters.
Antonio Busalacchi, president of UCAR, which administers NCAR, said in a statement Dec. 16 that “any plans to dismantle NSF NCAR would set back our nation’s ability to predict, prepare for, and respond to severe weather and other natural disasters.” He called the center’s research “crucial for building American prosperity.”
Many scientists also took to social media to oppose the decision, calling NCAR a “global mothership,” “global pillar” and the “beating heart of our field.”
“Dismantling NCAR is like taking a sledgehammer to the keystone holding up our scientific understanding of the planet,” climate scientist Katharine Hayhoe posted.
NCAR is quite literally our global mothership.
Everyone who works in climate and weather has passed through its doors and benefited from its incredible resources.
Dismantling NCAR is like taking a sledgehammer to the keystone holding up our scientific understanding of the planet.
Unbelievable.
— Katharine Hayhoe (@katharinehayhoe.com) December 16, 2025 at 7:59 PM
Deborah Méndez-Wilson, a spokesperson for CU Boulder, said that like institutions around the world, the university has worked closely with NCAR for decades.
“Our faculty, researchers and students work closely with NCAR on numerous projects that enable our nation to predict, prepare and respond to natural disasters that can have severe consequences on our communities both in terms of lives and economic impact to our communities,” she said. “We believe maintaining NCAR’s capabilities is essential for scientific progress and for safeguarding lives and livelihoods.”
Waleed Abdalati, director of CIRES, a NOAA cooperative institute at CU Boulder that works with NCAR, said his “concerns are not just as a scientist, but as a citizen.”
He said NCAR is a national resource. “From the models it provides to the tools and observations, it is a capability that cannot be readily replicated anywhere else,” he said. “This action, if carried out, would have significantly adverse implications in terms of national security, the economy, and US leadership in the world.”
On Saturday, Dec. 20, Boulder residents and activists are planning to gather from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in front of NOAA on South Broadway and Rayleigh to demonstrate and call for “saving NCAR.”