BOULDER, Colo. — A social media post from a member of President Donald Trump's cabinet sparked countless questions about the future of a prominent research facility nestled in the foothills of Boulder.
The Director of the Office of Management and Budget Russell Vought posted on Tuesday that the National Science Foundation (NSF) will be "breaking up" the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR). Vought continued to claim that NCAR "is one of the largest sources of climate alarmism in the country."
The National Science Foundation will be breaking up the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in Boulder, Colorado. This facility is one of the largest sources of climate alarmism in the country. A comprehensive review is underway & any vital activities such as weather…
— Russ Vought (@russvought) December 17, 2025
On Wednesday, the National Science Foundation (NSF) announced it is reviewing the "structure of the research and observational capabilities" operated by NCAR. NSF said it will engage with partner agencies, the research community, and other interested parties to gather feedback on "rescoping the functions" of the work done within NCAR.
Meanwhile, the president of the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR), which manages NCAR, said they have not been given any additional information about the federal government's plan to "break up" the center.
The President of UCAR Antonio Busalacchi continued to say any plans to dismantle NCAR "would set back our nation’s ability to predict, prepare for, and respond to severe weather and other natural disasters."
NCAR is considered a "global leader in Earth system science," and the announcement has several members of the Boulder community concerned about its future. Three of those people came to NCAR on Wednesday morning, carrying signs that showed their support for the research done at the center.
"I'm just outraged. I'm a former federal employee who worked as a researcher in a different laboratory, and I know the value of NCAR," said Kari Harper. “We need to, as a nation, be doing all that we can to understand climate change and see how we can eliminate our impacts to it in the future and what we can do to reverse it where possible.”
"We saw the start of the Marshall Fire on a day just like this," said Christine Cowles, while looking around at the strong wind gusts. “It is so dry. Any spark can burn down the whole city, we saw that, and it's not fake. It's true, and we need to take it seriously... NCAR's important to Boulder, and it's important to Colorado, and the whole world.”
The three women who brought signs to NCAR — Harper, Cowles, and Jennifer Roose — are members of a progressive group called Forever Indivisible. They are planning a Save NCAR visibility event on Saturday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in front of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in Boulder. The event is focused on NCAR, but the organizers feel they’ll be seen by the public more at NOAA.
Harper, Cowles, and Roose believe the dismantling of NCAR is directly related to the ongoing saga surrounding Tina Peters. Last week, Trump said he was granting a “full pardon” to the disgraced former Mesa County Clerk, who was convicted in 2024 on state charges for tampering with Colorado's election systems in the 2020 presidential election.
"It really seems like climate change denial, and we're also thinking it might be a little retribution for not releasing Tina Peters recently," said Roose.
Colorado Congressman Joe Neguse, a Democrat who represents Colorado’s 2nd Congressional District, also believes the NCAR dismantling is connected to Peters.
"It is part and parcel to a larger plan of retaliation and intimidation of our state by the Trump administration," Neguse said. "It's not how our democracy is supposed to function.”
Neguse said the work done at NCAR is "vital" to the country, both in terms of national security and weather modeling. He does not believe the Trump administration can legally dismantle the research center.
“I think it's an unlawful decision made by the Trump administration, and we're certainly going to do everything we can to push back against it," Neguse said. "There's a master agreement that's negotiated between UCAR and the National Science Foundation, and my understanding is that agreement does not expire for several years. I think it is clearly unlawful to terminate that agreement when we know that the reason for the termination of the agreement is a political dispute — essentially a state refusing to release someone who's been convicted of criminal offenses early from jail. That is outrageous."
Denver7 reached out to Colorado's Republican congressmembers as well, and received a statement from Congresswoman Lauren Boebert. Boebert said she "strongly support(s) the Administration’s decision (to) defund leftist activism disguised as science."
Boebert's statement continued to say: "This facility advanced the left-wing climate lunacy that is phasing out reliable energy like coal and natural gas and why Coloradoans are having their power shut off in December. Vital functions like weather research will be preserved and relocated to appropriate entities that focus on actual science, not radical environmentalist ideology.”
The University of Colorado at Boulder (CU Boulder) works closely with NCAR and sent Denver7 the following statement:
The University of Colorado Boulder values its longstanding collaboration with the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), which spans decades of joint research and innovation. Together, CU and NCAR have advanced critical scientific understanding in various weather-related areas affecting our state and nation––work that directly benefits communities around the country and supports national security. NCAR is a national resource with deep-rooted collaborations with institutions across the United States and the world. 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. We believe maintaining NCAR’s capabilities is essential for scientific progress and for safeguarding lives and livelihoods.
