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Trump picks 'Sharpiegate' figure to lead NOAA

February 4, 2025

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Energy & Environment

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The Big Story

Trump picks ‘Sharpiegate’ figure to lead NOAA

President Trump has nominated Neil Jacobs, a former National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) official involved in the “Sharpiegate” episode during Trump’s first term, to lead NOAA.

Jacobs, a onetime World Meteorological Organization scientist, was first confirmed as assistant secretary of commerce for environmental observation and prediction in 2018.

He served as acting NOAA administrator from 2020-21 and was nominated as the full-time administrator in 2020, but never received a full Senate vote.

NOAA is the nation’s oceans, weather and climate science agency. It houses the National Weather Service, oversees climate science and manages fishing and marine life.

In September 2019, after Trump apparently used a Sharpie to alter the projected path of Hurricane Dorian on a map to depict Alabama in its path, Jacobs was involved in drafting a NOAA statement backing Trump’s projection. The storm did not ultimately make landfall in Alabama.

A 2020 internal NOAA report determined Jacobs and then-NOAA communications director Julie Kay Roberts violated the agency’s scientific integrity policy by issuing the statement.

The nomination, first reported by Axios, has since been formally submitted to the Senate.

Read more at TheHill.com.

Welcome to The Hill’s Energy & Environment newsletter, we’re Rachel Frazin and Zack Budryk — keeping you up to speed on the policies impacting everything from oil and gas to new supply chains.

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