Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere

The under secretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere, or USC(OA), is a high-ranking official in the United States Department of Commerce and the principal advisor to the United States Secretary of Commerce on the environmental and scientific activities of the department. The under secretary is dual hatted as the administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration within the Commerce Department.

United States Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere
Incumbent Laura Grimm Acting  since March 31, 2025
Formation	October 3, 1970
First holder	Robert M. White
Website	www.noaa.gov

The under secretary is appointed by the president of the United States with the consent of the United States Senate to serve at the pleasure of the president. The current acting under secretary is Laura Grimm. She was appointed NOAA Chief of Staff in 2025 and has performed the duties of under secretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere succeeding Nancy Hann on March 31, 2025 when the duties were delegated to Grimm by Secretary Lutnick.

In February 2025, President Trump nominated former acting Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere Neil Jacobs to the position.^[1]

Overview

As the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the under secretary oversees the day-to-day functions of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, as well as laying out its strategic and operational future.^[2]

Components of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration that the Administrator oversees include the National Environmental Satellite, Data and Information Service, National Marine Fisheries Service, National Ocean Service, National Weather Service, Oceanic and Atmospheric Research, Marine and Aviation Operations, and the NOAA Corps.^[2]

With the rank of under secretary, the USC(OA) is a Level III position within the Executive Schedule^[3] Since January 2023, the annual rate of pay for Level III is $195,000.^[4] The under secretary ranks fifth in the line of succession for the office of Secretary of Commerce.^[5]

History

The position of Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere was created by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Marine Fisheries Program Authorization Act of 1985. The position was created to serve as the Administrator of NOAA. It also created an Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere to serve as Deputy Administrator of NOAA.^[6] William Evans was the first person to have the title of Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere. The position of Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration was created earlier by the Reorganization Plan No. 4 of 1970.^[7]

During the first Donald Trump administration, the agency never had a confirmed leader. Trump first nominated former AccuWeather CEO Barry Myers to serve as Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere on Oct 12, 2017. His nomination was returned to President Trump by the Senate on January 3, 2018,^[8] resubmitted on January 8, 2018, returned again on January 3, 2019,^[9] and resubmitted again on January 16, 2019.^[10] In November 2019, Myers withdrew his nomination, citing health concerns.^[11] A month later, Trump nominated Neil Jacobs, then the acting administrator, to be the 11th administrator.^[12] Though Jacobs had Senate confirmation hearings in May 2020, he was never confirmed, in part because of the so-called Sharpiegate incident.

Reporting officials

Officials reporting to the USC(OA)/Administrator include:

• Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Conservation and Management/Deputy Administrator
• Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Environmental Observation and Prediction/Deputy Administrator
• NOAA Chief Scientist
• Principal Deputy Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere
• Deputy Under Secretary of Commerce for Operations
• Assistant Administrator, National Marine Fisheries Service
• Assistant Administrator, National Ocean Service
• Assistant Administrator, National Environmental Satellite, Data and Information Service
• Assistant Administrator, Oceanic and Atmospheric Research
• Assistant Administrator, National Weather Service
• Assistant Administrator, Program Planning and Integration

Officeholders

From 1970 to 1988, the head of NOAA was the NOAA Administrator. Starting with Bill Evans in 1988, that person held the title of Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere.

  Denotes an Acting Administrator of NOAA

No.	Portrait	Name	Took office	Left office	Ref	Tenure	President serving under
1		Robert M. White	October 3, 1970	July 13, 1977		3 years, 310 days		Richard Nixon
						2 years, 164 days		Gerald Ford
						174 days (6 years, 283 days total)		Jimmy Carter
2		Richard A. Frank	July 13, 1977	January 20, 1981		3 years, 191 days
acting		James P. Walsh	January 20, 1981	June 10, 1981		141 days		Ronald Reagan
3		John V. Byrne	June 10, 1981	November 15, 1984	[13]	3 years, 158 days
acting		Anthony J. Calio	November 15, 1984	October 4, 1985	[13]	323 days
4			October 4, 1985	September 15, 1987		1 year, 346 days (2 years, 304 days total)
acting		J. Curtis Mack II	September 15, 1987	March 31, 1988		198 days
5		William Eugene Evans	March 31, 1988	August 7, 1989	[14]	295 days
						199 days (1 year, 129 days total)		George H. W. Bush
6		John A. Knauss	August 7, 1989	February 26, 1993	[14]	3 years, 166 days
						37 days (3 years, 203 days total)		Bill Clinton
acting		Diana Josephson	February 26, 1993	May 28, 1993		91 days
7		D. James Baker	May 28, 1993	January 20, 2001	[15]	7 years, 237 days
acting		Scott Gudes	January 20, 2001	December 10, 2001	[16]	324 days		George W. Bush
8		Conrad C. Lautenbacher	December 10, 2001	October 31, 2008	[16][17]	6 years, 326 days
acting		William J. Brennan	November 1, 2008	March 19, 2009	[18]	81 days
						58 days (139 days total)		Barack Obama
9		Jane Lubchenco	March 20, 2009	February 28, 2013	[19][20]	3 years, 345 days
acting		Kathryn D. Sullivan	March 1, 2013	March 6, 2014		1 year, 5 days
10			March 6, 2014	January 20, 2017	[21]	2 years, 320 days (3 years, 325 days total)
acting		Benjamin Friedman	January 20, 2017	October 25, 2017	[22]	278 days		Donald Trump
acting		Timothy Gallaudet	October 25, 2017	February 25, 2019	[23][24]	1 year, 123 days
acting		Neil Jacobs	February 25, 2019	January 20, 2021	[24]	1 year, 330 days
acting		Benjamin Friedman	January 20, 2021	June 22, 2021		153 days		Joe Biden
11		Rick Spinrad	June 22, 2021	January 20, 2025	[25][26]	3 years, 211 days
acting		Vice Admiral Nancy Hann	January 20, 2025	March 31, 2025		70 days		Donald Trump
acting		Laura Grimm	March 31, 2025	Present	[27]	120 days