President Trump wants Neil Jacobs to lead NOAA, America’s main weather and ocean research agency. This choice has sparked debate because of Jacobs’ past involvement in changing weather forecasts to match Trump’s claims.
Jacobs brings real scientific knowledge to the job. He’s a weather scientist who’s worked on making forecasts more accurate. Currently, he serves as chief science adviser for the Unified Forecast System, working to improve weather modeling by enhancing collaboration between NOAA and public and private researchers.
But there’s a cloud over his nomination. Back in 2019, during Hurricane Dorian, President Trump incorrectly said the storm would hit Alabama. When local weather experts said this wasn’t true, Jacobs backed Trump’s wrong forecast. This incident, known as “Sharpiegate,” led to an investigation that found Jacobs had broken NOAA’s rules about being truthful with science.
“He failed to protect scientific truth when it mattered most,” says Andrew Rosenberg, who used to help run NOAA. This matters because NOAA affects everyone’s life. The agency provides crucial weather data that helps create the forecasts we use daily. When fishing boats head out to sea, they rely on NOAA’s ocean information. When emergency managers plan for storms, they use NOAA’s warnings.
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Rachel Cleetus, a scientific expert, worries about what might happen under Jacobs. “If we can’t trust weather forecasts to be accurate,” she says, “people won’t know when to prepare for dangerous storms.” This could put lives at risk, as accurate weather predictions are crucial for public safety.
Craig McLean, who worked with Jacobs at NOAA, gives a balanced view: “Neil understands how important NOAA is to Americans,” he says. “But last time, he couldn’t stand up to political pressure when it really counted.”
The Senate, where Republicans have the majority, will need to approve Jacobs before he can take charge. Their decision will affect how Americans get their weather forecasts, how we study climate change, and how we manage our oceans and fisheries.
