Barry Myers is Trump’s nominee to head NOAA but the Hawaii senator says he is a “questionable choice.”
October 19, 2017 — WASHINGTON — Hawaii relies heavily on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration — in some ways, for its very safety.
NOAA, which oversees the National Weather Service, is the agency that helps predict and anticipate hurricanes, tsunamis and dangerous floods, issuing warnings that help people prepare or get out of the way.
But in this case, it’s President Donald Trump’s nominee to run the agency, a business executive from Pennsylvania, who is causing a political storm.
Barry Myers, chief executive officer of AccuWeather, a private weather and data services company based in State College, Pennyslvania, has been named by Trump to serve as U.S. Commerce Department Under Secretary for Oceans and Atmosphere, a job traditionally held by biologists and climate scientists. This position is usually also called the Administrator of NOAA.
Brian Schatz, Hawaii’s senior senator, has been one of the most vocal critics of the nominee, calling Myers a “questionable choice.”
Myers, the brother of the meteorologist who started the family-owned firm, has a background in business and law. He is definitely not a scientist, as he made clear at a congressional hearing last year.