MTG names her one positive to come from the shutdown: the end to ‘taxpayer-funded weather modification’ that isn’t really happening
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene claims the government shutdown has paused federally backed weather modification experiments, despite little sign such experiments exist (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
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Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene claimed Friday that the ongoing federal government shutdown has brought a halt to what she described as “taxpayer-funded weather modification experiments” — programs that U.S. agencies say do not exist.
“One good thing to come from this government shutdown… CLEAR SKIES!” Greene wrote on X. “No taxpayer-funded weather modification experiments Americans never asked for. My Clear Skies Act will BAN geoengineering and weather modification. No more spraying chemicals in our skies. It’s time to end this dangerous and unregulated practice!!”
Federal agencies, including the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), have repeatedly stated that the U.S. government is not conducting or funding large-scale weather modification or geoengineering efforts.
Both the EPA and NOAA have said over the last year they are not involved in non-laboratory experiments to change the weather (Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)
According to the EPA, “The U.S. government is not engaged in any form of outdoor testing or large-scale deployment of technologies to modify the amount of solar radiation hitting the Earth.” The agency said current federal research focuses only on improving scientific understanding of atmospheric conditions and the potential impacts of proposed solar geoengineering concepts.
NOAA similarly states that it “does not fund or participate in cloud seeding or other weather modification projects.” The agency adds that it neither modifies the weather nor oversees any such activities.
Commercial airline flights — often cited by conspiracy theorists as spreading “chemtrails” — continue to operate normally during the shutdown, contradicting Greene’s assertion that skies have cleared as a result of suspended “experiments.”
While cloud seeding has existed in the United States since the mid-20th century, it is typically managed at the state or local level, not by federal agencies. A 2024 Government Accountability Office report found active cloud seeding programs in at least nine mostly Western states, aimed at increasing snowfall and easing drought conditions.
Greene introduced legislation in July to ban weather modification (Real America’s Voice)
Greene has long criticized what she calls secretive weather control projects. In July, she introduced legislation known as the Clear Skies Act to ban geoengineering and related practices nationwide.
Despite a lack of evidence supporting large-scale weather modification claims, the Trump administration is reportedly forming a Department of Health and Human Services task force to examine public concerns about climate and weather control, according to an internal agency memo obtained by KFF Health News.
The memo, which includes references to theories scientists say are not physically possible with existing technology, drew sharp criticism from researchers. “That is a pretty shocking memo,” said Daniel Swain, a climate scientist at the University of California. “It doesn’t get more tinfoil hat. They really believe toxins are being sprayed.”
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