House Democrats criticized Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s (R-GA) decision to hold a subcommittee hearing on weather modification technology, which she has controversially linked to extreme weather events.
Greene, chairwoman of the House Oversight Subcommittee on Delivering on Government Efficiency, held a hearing on weather modifications, particularly cloud seeding and geoengineering. She has consistently voiced theories that these methods are linked to extreme weather events.
Democrats on the committee questioned Greene’s decision to hold a hearing regarding weather control technology in the Delivering on Government Efficiency subcommittee.
Ranking member of the subcommittee Rep. Melanie Stansbury (D-NM) said, “We want to acknowledge that the purpose of this subcommittee, and why it was created in the first place by the majority, was to root out waste, fraud, and abuse,” adding that the committee remains focused as it works on a report regarding waste and fraud within the Trump administration.
“I’m troubled to see that this subcommittee, which is designed to address government spending, to streamline efficiency of government programs, has strayed so far from its mission,” Stansbury said.
She listed several issues the committee could tackle instead of weather modification, including Medicaid changes under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, Jerffery Epstein cases, tariffs, and the dismantling of climate-related agencies such as the Environmental Protection Agency.
Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX) also criticized Greene for focusing on weather-controlling technology instead of addressing government oversight. She said the Republicans would rather distract constituents from the Epstein case or Medicaid cuts with a hearing on “conspiracy theories” related to “chemtrails.”
Theories surrounding the link between weather control technology and extreme weather events have heightened among Republicans following several recent extreme weather events.
After a severe flash flood struck central Texas in July, some Republicans, like Greene, claimed the flood was the result of weather modification.
Greene has consistently upheld these theories. For instance, in October, she argued that the government could control the weather during Hurricane Helene.
“Remember, if you even question that someone could control the weather, you were labeled a conspiracy theorist or crazy,” Greene said in Tuesday’s hearing. “These climate activists have come so far that they are actively trying to inject chemicals into the air to block the rays of the sun from hitting the Earth, and they want to take away our God given rights … over the Earth in order to satisfy their godless climate cult beliefs,” she added.
Shortly following the flood in Texas, the EPA launched new agency websites to address the public’s questions about weather modifications, particularly geoengineering and contrails, in response to many claims that weather modifications were connected to the severe flooding.
There is no scientific evidence that links extreme weather events, such as floods or hurricanes, to weather modification. Still, Republicans homed in on cloud seeding as a key area of concern during the hearing.
Cloud seeding is a technology that has been used for decades on a localized scale. Specifically, it modifies the weather by introducing tiny particles, typically silver iodide crystals, into clouds to increase rainfall.
The U.S. Government Accountability Office said in a December report that the method could increase precipitation from zero percent to 20%. As of July 2024, at least nine states — most in the West — are using cloud seeding: California, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Texas, Utah, and Wyoming. They use this method to mitigate the effects of extreme drought resulting from climate change.
Greene said there is “absolutely no way to measure the effectiveness of cloud seeding.” She added that there is “little regulation and rules” over weather modifications, which she called “extremely concerning.”
Stansbury said, “As a technology, the idea of cloud seeding is just based on the physics of clouds, which is that in order to have rain or precipitation, a water droplet has to be heavy enough to condense and fall out of a cloud.… Today, there is still a lot of research to be done about its efficacy.”
Stansbury shifted focus to the broader issue of climate change, emphasizing the overwhelming scientific consensus following many Republicans’ questioning of the alarmism surrounding the topic: “Every single witness here has identified that there’s no dispute in the scientific community that the global carbon emissions have gone up.… This isn’t a theory.”
The hearing is taking place as the Trump administration has initiated efforts to defund climate initiatives and lay off scientists. Crockett also emphasized the administration’s actions to shrink the EPA’s budget and other climate-related agencies and policies.
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“Unfortunately, it seems like this administration’s decision has been to defund any and everyone that actually could work on saving us, because we don’t know what will happen if this planet … heats up to a ridiculous amount,” she said.
“I can tell you that other countries acknowledge that climate change is real and that we have real work to do, and it is within the science realm instead of the conspiracy realm,” Crockett added.
