President Donald Trump has nominated Neil Jacobs to lead the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, turning to the man who was his acting NOAA chief in 2019 when Trump altered an expected hurricane impact map in what became known as the “Sharpiegate” scandal.

“Neil knows that America uses NOAA’s products every day,” said Craig McLean, a career civil servant who was the agency’s chief scientist during Mr. Trump’s first term. “His last tenure showed the limits of good will against political bullying.”

President Donald Trump has nominated Neil Jacobs as administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration—the same acting chief who was overseeing the agency during the “Sharpiegate” scandal during his first term.

If confirmed by the Senate, Neil Jacobs will retake the top slot at NOAA, where he was acting administrator from 2019 to 2021. He’s currently the chief science adviser at the Unified Forecast System, a NOAA-funded research initiative housed at the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research. The nomination was first reported by Axios.

President Donald Trump has named Neil Jacobs, a veteran of his first administration, to lead the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

President Trump has nominated Neil Jacobs to head NOAA. Some former NOAA employees are concerned about Jacobs' scientific integrity after his prior involvement in "Sharpiegate."

Neil Jacobs led NOAA on an acting basis for part of the president’s first term, including in September 2019 when Trump appeared to use a sharpie marker to incorrectly alter an official National Hurric

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If confirmed by the Senate, Jacobs would return to an agency he led during the first Trump administration, including during the infamous "Sharpiegate"