An internal government document proposes significant changes for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration along with a 25% cut to its 2026 budget, according to a draft obtained by CBS News from three sources. The cuts hit the agency’s research functions hardest.
Under the proposal, Oceanic and Atmospheric Research would be eliminated as an office, as well as all funding for climate, weather and ocean laboratories, cooperative institutes and several other programs, according to the document obtained by CBS News.
The memo is labeled “pre-decisional,” considered an initial proposal by the Office of Budget and Management, during the so-called “passback” process. During “passback,” agencies can appeal decisions to OMB, according to the Congressional Research Service.
The draft document proposes a $1.672 billion reduction from 2025 funding levels for NOAA, saying “passback levels support a leaner NOAA that focuses on core operational needs, eliminates unnecessary levels of bureaucracy, terminates nonessential grant programs, and ends activities that do not warrant a Federal role.”
Current and former NOAA officials describe the memo’s objective as “devastating,” saying research is the backbone to improving services to the public.
“When you cut the research, you cut the ability to improve the forecasts and the predictions,” former NOAA Administrator Rick Spinrad told CBS News Friday.
“It’s not just hurricanes or tornadoes. The climate side of things includes seasonal outlook. So if precipitation which are used obviously by the agricultural community, the insurance and reinsurance industry wants information about,” Spinrad said.
One current NOAA employee, speaking to CBS News anonymously out of fear of retaliation, said they are most concerned about the memo’s “complete disregard for how important Earth systems research is for human survival.”
National Weather Service funding would remain the same, but the draft proposes to move the Space Weather Prediction Center, which monitors conditions like solar flares and geomagnetic storms, from NOAA to the Department of Homeland Security.
Within the Office of Space Commerce, viewed as a growing priority within NOAA, the passback proposes to terminate the Traffic Coordination System for Space, tasked with helping to coordinate space traffic and guard against collisions. It proposes potentially transferring “useful elements of TraCSS effort to a non-government entity.”
Congressional Democrats are also sounding the alarm over the proposal.
“Trump’s budget plan for NOAA is both outrageous and dangerous. They’re wholly destroying critical offices, like NOAA’s Oceanic and Atmospheric Research line office, which is foundational to the agency’s mission to protect life and property,” said Rep. Zoe Lofgren, a Democrat from California and the ranking member of the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology.
While sources at NOAA say they have been successful in the past of objecting to the Office of Management and Budget during the “passback” period, they worry it will be much more difficult to appeal under the current administration.
“No final funding decisions have been made,” OMB spokeswoman Alexandra McCandless said.
The White House has not responded to a request for comment.
