Lawsuit Challenges Trump Administration's Plan to Dismantle Largest Climate Research Lab

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A group of universities that oversee the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), the country's largest federal climate research center, have filed a lawsuit challenging the Trump administration's attempts to dismantle the lab. The lawsuit alleges the administration is waging a 'widespread and coordinated campaign of punishment and coercion' against the state of Colorado over ongoing tension between President Trump and Colorado's governor, Jared Polis.

Why it matters

NCAR is the nation's premier research institute for weather modeling and climate science, providing critical research and data for hurricane forecasting, wildfire monitoring, weather prediction, and space weather. The lawsuit argues that dismantling NCAR would pose a direct threat to national security, public safety, and economic prosperity, and risk setting back the country's global leadership in these vital areas.

The details

The lawsuit was filed by the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR), a nonprofit research group made up of colleges and universities that operates NCAR, which is headquartered in Boulder, Colorado. The Trump administration announced in December that it planned to break up the center. The lawsuit alleges that several federal agencies, including the National Science Foundation, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce, and the Office of Management and Budget, have targeted NCAR as part of the administration's larger fight with Colorado's governor.

• The Trump administration announced plans to break up NCAR in December 2025.
• The lawsuit was filed by UCAR on March 17, 2026.

What’s next

The lawsuit seeks to halt several of the federal government's actions, including the transfer of NCAR's supercomputing facility and the cancellation of a key NOAA grant. A district judge will rule on the lawsuit's requests.