Breaking news: Colorado senate delegation forces delay in budget votes due to administration plans to dismantle NCAR

Action comes as western parts of Denver region face "particularly dangerous" wind and wildfire risk on Friday

Earlier this evening, the two Democratic US Senators for Colorado, Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper, issued a joint press statement indicating that they had forced a delay on the latest Senate appropriations package in response to the Trump Administration’s announced plan to dismantle the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) and close its Mesa Lab in Boulder, CO.

Politico is now reporting that the Senate has adjourned for their holiday recess without votes on an appropriations package which the Senate is trying to pass to fund those government agencies that do not yet have an approved 2026 federal budget and avoid a new government shutdown on January 30th:

Senate leaders gave up on trying to pass a government funding package before adjourning for the holidays, punting the issue to the new year — when lawmakers will have just a few weeks left to avoid a partial shutdown on Jan. 30. Senators huddled on the floor Thursday night as they made an eleventh-hour attempt to find a path forward on bringing up a bundle of five bills. But Democratic Sens. Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper of Colorado announced they would hold up the package after White House budget director Russ Vought’s decision to dismantle the National Center for Atmospheric Research.

Meanwhile, The Hill reported that “a Democratic senator involved in the negotiations over passing a five-bill package of appropriations bills before Christmas said that Trump’s attempt to break up a premier weather and climate center based in Boulder, Colo., was like a ‘stick of dynamite’ that exploded any chance of a bipartisan breakthrough on spending.”

In response to the administration’s announcement Tuesday night to dismantle NCAR and close the Mesa Lab, NSF leadership released a statement on Wednesday that the agency would be engaging with partners to obtain “feedback for rescoping the functions of the work currently performed by NCAR.” NSF is funded through the Commerce, Justice and Science (CJS) appropriations process, and the CJS appropriations bill that was formally approved by the Senate Appropriations Committee earlier this year did not have any specific wording related to NCAR. However, it did include wording that the CJS committee expected “NSF to fully fund its U.S. scientific research facilities and instruments to adequately support scientists and students engaged in sustained, cutting-edge research.”

Tonight’s action by the Colorado senate delegation shows that a prolonged political battle regarding the future of NCAR is likely looming. Meanwhile, this political drama is occurring as the state is facing another critical weather day on Friday.

Another significant downslope wind event is expected on Friday in the mountains and foothills of Colorado (and adjoining states). The NWS office in Boulder is now forecasting a “particularly dangerous situation” in the Foothills region west of Denver for wind gusts of 85 to 100 mph — combined with low relative humidity, this could cause explosive wildfire development and growth.

I will obviously have more on all of this in my regular newsletter and posts on Friday.

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