A federal judge in Colorado has blocked the Trump administration’s effort to transfer control of a climate research supercomputer, ruling the move likely violated federal law and may have been motivated by political retaliation.

U.S. Senior District Judge R. Brooke Jackson on Monday granted a preliminary injunction halting plans by the federal government to shift stewardship of the NCAR-Wyoming Supercomputing Center away from the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), a federally funded institution based in Boulder.

The NWSC, which NCAR began operating in 2012, supports researchers at more than 575 universities and institutions, providing high-performance computing for weather forecasting, climate modeling and Earth studies, according to court documents.

The lawsuit was filed in March by the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research, which manages NCAR, after the National Science Foundation announced plans to restructure parts of the nation’s weather research infrastructure.

UCAR argued the decision was part of a broader, unconstitutional retaliatory campaign against Colorado by the Trump administration.

“The Constitution prohibits the Agencies from punishing a State for the lawful exercise of sovereign powers. The Executive may not leverage government funds to undermine constitutionally protected interests and produce a result which it could not command directly,” plaintiffs wrote.

The suit cites Trump’s personal attacks against Gov. Jared Polis over Colorado’s mail-in ballot policy and the imprisonment of former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters, who was convicted of felonies related to false claims about the 2020 election.

In August, Trump posted calls to free Peters, saying “if she is not released, I am going to take harsh measures.” In December, he called Polis “weak and pathetic.”

The following day, the federal government revoked $109 million in transportation funding exclusively for Colorado, while issuing hundreds of similar grants across the country, the lawsuit alleges.

That same day, the director of the Office of Management and Budget called NCAR “one of the largest sources of climate alarmism in the country” and said NSF would be “breaking up” NCAR, according to court documents.

“UCAR and NCAR are collateral damage,” the suit states.

The complaint also points to a White House statement suggesting Colorado residents would be better served if the governor “actually wanted to work with President Trump,” as well as other federal actions including denial of two requests for disaster aid, burdensome changes to food assistance requirements and Trump’s veto of a bipartisan water infrastructure project.

“Despite the bill’s broad support, when asked why he had vetoed it, President Trump said, “They’re wasting a lot of money and people are leaving (Colorado). They’re leaving the state in droves. Bad governor,” the lawsuit stated, noting later that day, the president said he hoped that Gov. Polis and Peters’ prosecutors would “rot in Hell.”

Jackson agreed with UCAR’s argument, citing “NSF’s failure to provide any explanation for its decision — let alone a reasonable one.”

“To the extent that the transfer decision was motivated, even in part, by political or personal animus, as opposed to an analysis of the relevant facts and data, it would demonstrate that the agency acted arbitrarily and capriciously,” he wrote.

Jackson, an Obama appointee, wrote that NSF’s “flagrant disregard” for its own procedures was “not in accordance with law.”

“One of the basic procedural requirements of administrative rulemaking is that an agency must give adequate reasons for its decisions,” Jackson wrote, noting one official’s explanation amounted to “because NSF has said so.”

In granting the injunction, the court ruled that the public had a compelling interest in the continued operation as the suit made its way through federal court and that NCAR would likely suffer irreparable harm.

“In addition to the ongoing ‘brain drain,’ UCAR faces irreparable harm in the form of financial injuries that are ‘difficult, if not impossible’ to quantify,” Jackson wrote.

In a statement, UCAR Interim President Eric Barron said the decision protects critical scientific infrastructure related to agriculture, water resources, wildfire risk, military operations and aviation safety.

“Today’s decision ensures that the NWSC will be able to continue its vital work on behalf of the United States,” Barron said. “We are pleased that Judge Jackson recognized how damaging the proposed transfer of the NWSC to another operator would be for the nation’s scientific community.”

The injunction preserves NCAR’s control of the supercomputing system while litigation proceeds, and the case will now move forward in federal court.