Senate Commerce Clears NOAA Nominations

The Senate Commerce Committee approved the nominations of Neil Jacobs and Taylor Jordan to top positions at NOAA today. The nominations now must be voted on by the full Senate. No mention was made of the abrupt actions taken by the Trump Administration last Friday putting two other NOAA officials on administrative leave without explanation. The committee also approved Sen. Cruz’s Space Exploration Research Act.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is a bureau of the Department of Commerce. Among its space-related responsibilities are operation of the nation’s weather and space weather satellites through the National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service (NESDIS) and regulation of commercial remote sensing satellites and development of the Traffic Coordination System for Satellites (TraCSS) through the Office of Space Commerce.

Jacobs served as Acting NOAA Administrator during half of the first Trump Administration. He’s an atmospheric scientist with dual B.S. degrees in mathematics and physics from the University of South Carolina, and an M.S. in air-sea interaction and a Ph.D. in numerical modeling from North Carolina State University.

Confirmed by the Senate as Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Environmental Prediction and Observation in February 2018, he was appointed as Acting Administrator in February 2019 and nominated to be Administrator in December 2019. His nomination cleared the Senate committee in May 2020, but he was not confirmed after Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA), then as now the top Democrat on the committee, objected to the role Jacobs played in Sharpiegate.

President Trump renominated him as NOAA Administrator this year and Cantwell supported his nomination today.

“I plan to support Dr. Jacobs to serve as NOAA Administrator. In the face of rapidly changing climate, increasingly severe storms and wildfires, the NOAA position could never be more important. And while we may have some differences with Dr. Jacobs and some issues with previous times, I believe that he is in agreement on what NOAA’s priorities should be — like the [need for a NOAA] Organic Act, our long overdue mission to make sure we’re continuing to invest in forecasting technology including the proposals I put forth on a 5-point plan, and other pieces of legislation critical to NOAA’s future.”

Jacobs’ nomination was approved by voice vote. Cantwell appeared to be one of only three Democrats present for the vote. After the vote, seven other Democrats notified the committee they wanted to be recorded as no: Senators Markey (MA), Blunt Rochester (DE), Peters (MI), Duckworth (IL), Hickenlooper (CO), Fetterman (PA), and Kim (NJ).

Trump nominated Jordan to be Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Environmental Prediction and Observation. He has a master’s degree in energy and climate from Johns Hopkins.

During his confirmation hearing on July 9, Jordan pointed to his experience as a staffer on the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee helping write the Weather Research and Forecasting Innovation Act, serving as a senior policy advisor at NOAA in the first Trump Administration, and in the private sector since 2021 as his qualifications. According to his LinkedIn page, he’s currently a lobbyist at Innovative Federal Strategies.

A recorded vote was taken on his nomination.  Cantwell was the only Democrat present during that vote, but had proxies from the others. She said she “has serious concerns about his views on climate and a variety of activities in the private sector.”  He was approved on party lines 15-13.

Today’s votes took place against the backdrop of the Trump Administration suddenly placing two NOAA officials on administrative leave on Friday: Steve Volz, the head of NESDIS and Acting Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Environmental Prediction and Observation, and Jeff Dillen, NOAA’s Deputy General Counsel.

In a statement to the Washington Post, a NOAA spokeswoman said the two were placed on leave for unrelated reasons, but the Post and others point out they were involved in investigating Sharpiegate during President Trump’s first term. Jacobs was acting NOAA administrator at the time and the investigation cited him for scientific misconduct. Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), the top Democrat on the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee, issued a statement on Sunday saying the action “reeks of impropriety.”

Volz posted a letter on LinkedIn to his colleagues two days ago explaining that he doesn’t know why he was placed on leave: “The single page memo indicated I would ‘remain in this status until further notice, pending the outcome of an investigation into (my) recent conduct.’ When I know more about what drove this action, and what conduct was considered egregious, I will share it with you.”  He said leading NESDIS for the past 10 years has been “the most rewarding period of my career” after 22 years at NASA and five in industry.

No mention was made of the incident today.

The committee also approved an amended version of S. 2351, the bipartisan Space Exploration Research Act. Sponsored by committee chairman Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), it is cosponsored by six others: Padilla (D-CA), Britt (R-AL), Luján (D-NM), Schiff (D-CA), and Wicker (R-MS).  The bill allows NASA centers to lease property to states, universities, and non-profits to develop unused facilities for research in support of NASA missions and then lease it back.