Donald Trump has announced that an atmospheric scientist at the center of the infamous “Sharpiegate” controversy will lead the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Neil Jacobs led NOAA on an acting basis for part of the president’s first term, including in September 2019 when Trump appeared to use a marker to alter an official National Hurricane Center map to incorrectly show that Hurricane Dorian would hit Alabama.
Jacobs was later involved in the drafting of a statement backing the president’s false projection, and criticizing NOAA’s meteorologists for contradicting Trump's claim. He later told a press conference that “weather should not be a partisan issue.”
However, a 2020 internal NOAA report determined Jacobs and then-NOAA communications director Julie Kay Roberts compromised the agency’s scientific integrity policy with the statement.
Jacobs’s nomination was received in the Senate and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, on Sunday. A Senate committee previously approved his nomination in 2020, but the full chamber did not confirm him before the end of Trump’s first term.
If confirmed, he would retake control of an agency central to conducting federal climate research, monitoring and forecasting climate and weather, and managing and conserving U.S. fisheries.
His new boss has previously labeled climate change as a “hoax” and is an advocate for the increased use of fossil fuels.
Jacobs currently serves as the chief science adviser for the Unified Forecast System, an initiative aimed at improving the accuracy of U.S. weather and climate forecasting and fostering collaboration between NOAA and researchers.
He previously held the position of Chief Atmospheric Scientist at Panasonic Avionics Corporation, as well as the Chair of the American Meteorological Society’s Forecast Improvement Group.
He became embroiled in “Sharpiegate” in September 2019, when Trump presented a map depicting a projected course for Hurricane Dorian that had been modified with a black marker.
Rather than supporting Alabama-based National Weather Service meteorologists — who reported the state would not be impacted by the hurricane — the NOAA leadership backed a claim made by Mr Trump suggesting the hurricane posed a threat.
Jacobs and Roberts were later cited as having violated the agency's code of scientific integrity policy "intentionally, knowingly, or in reckless disregard." The agency's scientific integrity policy explicitly prohibits the NOAA from allowing its communications or its conduct to be influenced by politics.
Neither Jacobs nor Roberts ultimately faced punishment for their violation of the policy. Instead, the investigators called for the implementation of new guidelines and training to strengthen the integrity policy to prevent future violations.
