The Trump administration cannot dismantle the National Center for Atmospheric Research, a federal judge ruled this week. But the damage may already be done.
Staff are fleeing, equipment has been offered for sale and multiple critical projects are paused, possibly never to be started again.
The federally funded research facility, which forecasts hurricanes, monitors space weather, models wildfires and researches severe storms, is the latest example of how the Trump administration’s efforts to chainsaw the federal government can happen too fast for the courts or Congress to counter.
Courts similarly tried to slow or reverse President Donald Trump’s efforts to disband Voice of America or demolish the White House’s East Wing, only to realize that the administration’s plan was practically or physically hard to undo.
