Following the second inauguration of Donald Trump as President of the United States, and the creation of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) on January 20, 2025, several major changes occurred at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), including hundreds of employees being terminated, dozens of federal contracts and leases being terminated, and the enactment of executive orders which affected the operations of NOAA. The operations of the National Weather Service (NWS) were affected, with several offices stopping weather balloon launches, and NOAA databases and websites went offline. The National Weather Service was also the target of domestic terrorism threats for conspiracy theories regarding weaponizing the weather.
Federal employee buyouts, resignations, and terminations
On February 27, 2025, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) abruptly terminated around 880 employees, over 7.3% of the total staff from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Before the terminations, NOAA had approximately 12,000 employees that included 6,773 scientists and engineers. Shortly after the firings, William Alsup, Senior Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, ruled that the OPM "had no authority to order the firings of probationary employees". Rick Spinrad, the former NOAA Administrator who was picked by former president Joe Biden, stated firings occurred at the National Hurricane Center and Storm Prediction Center. Spinrad stated 25% of the NOAA Environmental Modeling Center was terminated. Congressman Jared Huffman responded to the firings by saying the entire American public "depend on NOAA for free, accurate forecasts, severe weather alerts, and emergency information". Daniel Swain, a scientist at the University of California, in response to the firings said, "Most or all private weather companies in US (including forecasts that you see on TV or your favorite app) are built directly atop backbone of taxpayer-funded instrumentation, data, predictive modeling, & forecasts provided by NOAA". On March 5, 113 members of the United States Congress sent a letter to the United States Department of Commerce to "express profound outrage" to the termination of 880 NOAA employees. The 113 members of Congress went on to say:
"The termination of hundreds of dedicated scientists, meteorologists, and ocean experts, particularly from the National Weather Service, is a reckless decision that puts American lives at risk, undermines critical climate research now and in the future, and threatens the economic well-being of communities across the nation...The assertion that these layoffs will somehow improve “efficiency” is not only misleading but outright dangerous. Efficiency is not only measured in dollars saved but more importantly in lives protected and disasters mitigated. NOAA saves money and American lives. In 2020, NOAA’s hurricane forecasting saved approximately $5 billion per major hurricane landfall. NOAA’s mission is to provide accurate, science-driven information that helps communities prepare for and respond to environmental threats. A reduction in personnel cripples the very infrastructure that Americans depend on to withstand climate-driven catastrophes." On March 6, over 1,000 people protested outside of the NOAA office complex in Boulder, Colorado and on March 7, a protest occurred outside of the National Weather Center in Norman, Oklahoma; both to protest the 880 NOAA terminations. On March 8, The New York Times reported at least 1,000 more NOAA employees were set to be terminated, downsizing NOAA's pre-terminations workforce by 20%. Throughout the day on March 8, several terminated NOAA employees posted on X and Bluesky they were rehired by the Department of Commerce. Andy Hazelton, a former physical scientist at the NOAA Environmental Modeling Center (EMC), reported none of the EMC terminated employees were rehired. However, on April 10, reports came out that some probationary employees had been "re-fired" after being placed on administrative leave in mid-March.
On April 22, NOAA approved the deferred resignations or buyouts of 1,029 NOAA employees, which was offered by President Donald Trump to all U.S. government employees on January 28, 2025. On May 7, the Department of Commerce (DOC) sent a letter to all 880 probationary employees that were fired on February 27 and those rehired and refired on April 10. The letter stated its issuance to the fired probationary employees was ordered by Judge William Alsup of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. The letter stated Judge Alsup determined the probationary employees were not fired based on the initial firing reasonings of "performance or fitness based" but was rather "part of a government-wide mass termination". John Guenther, the Department of Commerce's acting General Counsel stated in the letter, "the Department believes it to be both legally and factually erroneous" on employees not being fired based on "performance or fitness based" reasonings, and that the DOC "intends to rigorously defend its actions as this matter continues through litigation".
On May 30, the White House released that only 850 probationary employees from the entire Department of Commerce were fired, not that 880 were fired from NOAA, a single branch of the Department of Commerce.
Effects of the terminations
… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.
