Senate confirms scientist with ties to Sharpiegate as top NOAA official

Neil Jacobs was assistant secretary for environmental observation when Trump displayed a map altered with a black Sharpie to incorrectly show Hurricane Dorian's path.

The Senate on Tuesday confirmed Neil Jacobs to be the new head of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

The confirmation puts a career atmospheric scientist with a deep understanding of NOAA at the helm of the agency, which is responsible for making weather predictions and keeping climate records, a point of contention during the Trump administration.

However, critics have highlighted Jacobs’ role in the so-called Sharpiegate controversy of 2019 as an example of his bending to perceived political pressure.

Sharpiegate refers to when Trump incorrectly said Hurricane Dorian could strike Alabama. The National Weather Service’s Birmingham office denied the state was at risk, but Trump doubled down and later showed reporters a map of the hurricane’s potential path that had been altered with a black Sharpie.

Later, top NOAA officials rebuked the local forecasters amid perceived political pressure. Jacobs was NOAA’s assistant secretary for environmental observation at the time.