TAMPA, Fla. _ President Donald Trump's pick to run the federal agency in charge of weather forecasting and water monitoring hit a snag in April. A federal report alleged widespread sexual harassment at AccuWeather, the former company of his nominee, Barry Myers.
It's the second time this year AccuWeather has faced accusations of a hostile work environment.
Few states have as intimate of a relationship with the agency Myers would lead, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, as weather-worried Florida. The agency's scientists study everything from sea level rise to coastal flooding and fisheries management. They predict hurricane activity. When storms arrive, its meteorologists forecast the rain and wind and surge.
Yet amid the controversy with Myers, Florida's two Republican senators, Marco Rubio and Rick Scott, wouldn't say if they support his nomination.
His former company's hostile work allegations aren't the only cloud to cast a shadow on Myers since Trump tapped him for the job in 2017. As the former CEO of the weather forecasting company AccuWeather, Myers made millions predicting the weather for clients. Meanwhile, he waged a decadeslong war on the National Weather Service, often arguing that weather forecasts should mostly be left up to the private sector.
Myers would oversee the National Weather Service if confirmed.
Government watchdogs have questioned how Myers could oversee a federal agency that overlaps with a business he remains close to. The union representing federal meteorologists has questioned his credentials while environmentalists say a scientist should be in the job. The advocacy group Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility recently accused Myers of not telling the truth about his former company's sexual harassment settlement.
Scott recently voted for Myers in a committee but has been silent since.
During a recent stop in Tampa, Rubio said he had only "begun to look at the nomination" of Myers _ an appointment first made 18 months ago _ so he couldn't remark on him. But Rubio didn't seem concerned.
"I anticipate, given just the internal culture of (the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) and the way that agency operates that by and large it will continue to function professionally," Rubio said. "I'm pretty convinced that will be the case."
