Neil deGrasse Tyson, an American astrophysicist, author, and science communicator, recently stirred up a lot of discussion online after he pointed out that the Trump administration plans to cut a big chunk of funding from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
In a May 6 post on Bluesky, Tyson noted that NOAA, which plays a critical role in forecasting extreme weather, is facing deep budget cuts.
He also mentioned that this move could hit hurricane-prone states like Louisiana and Florida especially hard, both of which backed Trump in the last election.
“Weather and climate research funds are being ‘chainsawed’ from NOAA’s budget. Last I checked, Louisiana & Florida, which are maximally susceptible to Hurricanes, voted Red in the last General Election. Wondering if residents there knew in advance this would happen,” Tyson wrote.
Trump’s NOAA Cuts Could Hurt Hurricane-Prone States
The Trump administration’s proposed budget for fiscal year 2026 includes a nearly 30% cut to NOAA, the parent agency of the National Weather Service (NWS).
According to a memo obtained by ProPublica, the cuts would eliminate many of the agency’s core research functions, including the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory (GFDL) at Princeton, which has been a global leader in climate modeling since 1955.
The memo described the proposed cuts as eliminating “functions of the Department that are misaligned with the President’s agenda and the expressed will of the American people.”
Former National Weather Service Leaders Sound the Alarm
Former leaders of the National Weather Service have issued a stark warning about the potential impact of these cuts.
In an open letter, the five living former directors of the NWS said their “worst nightmare” is that the cuts will result in a “needless loss of life.”
The letter warned that the NWS is already struggling, with over 550 employees leaving since the beginning of the year, leaving the agency down 10% of its staff as hurricane season approaches.
“We know that’s a nightmare shared by those on the forecasting front lines, and by the people who depend on their efforts,” the letter read.
E.W. (Joe) Friday, one of the signatories, noted that some NWS offices are already so short-staffed they have to close at night, potentially missing critical weather updates.
Experts Warn of Long-Term Impact on U.S. Safety and Economy
Craig McLean, a former NOAA scientist, warned that losing the GFDL would cripple the U.S.’s ability to predict extreme weather and adapt to climate change.
“We’ll go back to the technical and proficiency levels we had in the 1950s,” McLean said, adding that the cuts would leave the U.S. without the tools needed to respond to increasingly severe storms and other climate impacts.
Critics have also noted that the loss of this critical climate data would ripple through the economy, affecting industries from insurance to agriculture.
NOAA data is used by insurance companies to assess risk, by shippers to avoid dangerous seas, and by farmers to plan planting cycles.
Without this data, entire sectors of the economy could face increased costs and disruptions.
Commerce Department Dismisses Concerns
Despite the warnings, the administration has continued to downplay the risks.
The Department of Commerce, which oversees NOAA, recently suspended $4 million in grants for a related climate research program at Princeton, dismissing the program’s work as contributing to “climate anxiety.”
As Tyson’s post continues to circulate, some have echoed his concerns, with one user on Bluesky responding, “And because of their vote, we all suffer.”
Another wrote, “We don’t need the rehashing of what Democrats did ‘wrong.’ Now is the time to come together and fight this monstrosity.”
Tyson’s post highlights a broader debate about the balance between political priorities and scientific research, and whether voters in hurricane-prone states fully understood the potential consequences of supporting a president who is now cutting critical climate and weather funding.
IMAGE CREDIT: “President Donald Trump speaks to troops while visiting U.S. Central Command” by Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, via Flickr. Licensed under CC BY 2.0. Image adjusted for layout.