Resolution criteria
The lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court for the District of Colorado against the National Science Foundation (NSF), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the United States Department of Commerce (DOC), the United States Office of Management and Budget (OMB), and their respective directors. The market resolves YES if UCAR/NCAR obtains a favorable ruling that prevents the Trump administration from dismantling NCAR, including stopping the transfer of the supercomputer, cancellation of research agreements, or restructuring of the organization. The market resolves NO if the court rules against UCAR/NCAR or the lawsuit is dismissed. Resolution will be determined by the final court decision in this case, which can be tracked at the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado.
Background
A consortium of universities sued to stop the Trump administration's planned dismantling of Boulder's National Center for Atmospheric Research, with UCAR filing the lawsuit. UCAR is a nonprofit consortium of 129 North American universities that manages NCAR on behalf of the National Science Foundation. Since December, the administration has sought to transfer the management of NCAR's supercomputer, canceled millions of dollars intended for climate research, imposed gag orders on employees, and proposed the sale of the center's iconic headquarters. The lawsuit alleges violations of the Constitution and the Administrative Procedure Act arising from several adverse actions taken by federal agencies over the last several months directed against NCAR and UCAR.
Considerations
The administration's plans to neuter NCAR are part of a "campaign of retaliation" against Colorado's state government and its leaders for maintaining mail-in voting and refusing to grant clemency to Tina Peters, a former county clerk and Trump ally convicted of felonies in an election misconduct case, according to the lawsuit. This retaliation claim is central to UCAR's legal strategy and may influence how courts evaluate the government's stated rationale for dismantling the center.
1,000