August 1, 2025 — The U.S. Senate Commerce Committee voted to advance the nomination of Neil Jacobs – a former NOAA acting administrator and U.S. President Donald Trump’s current pick to lead the agency once more.
Jacobs was first named acting administrator of NOAA in 2018 during Trump’s first administration, but his nomination was never approved by the full Senate. When Trump was succeeded by President Joe Biden, Jacobs was replaced by Richard Spinrad.