To save taxpayer money or for idiological reasons, like everything else that's ever been privatised in the history of the term anywhere on the planet.
To add to this “they” in this context refers to “the current officials in power”
Trump's choice for the head of NOAA is Barry Lee Myers, the 81 year old CEO of Accuweather who, with no scientific background, has been lobbying for years to dissolve the National Weather Service.