Hundreds of scientists and experts have been laid off from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), a leading U.S. agency responsible for weather forecasting, climate analysis, marine conservation and more, a Democrat lawmaker said Thursday.
The cuts come as Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency enacts sweeping reductions to the federal workforce — moves that critics argue may exceed legal authority.
"Hundreds of scientists and experts at NOAA just received the news every federal worker has been dreading," Congressman Jared Huffman, D-Calif., wrote in a statement.
"Musk's sham mission is bringing vital programs to a screeching halt. People nationwide depend on NOAA for free, accurate forecasts, severe weather alerts, and emergency information," added Huffman, who is the second most powerful member of the House Natural Resources Committee.
"Purging the government of scientists, experts, and career civil servants and slashing fundamental programs will cost lives."
A NOAA spokesman said the agency would not comment on internal personnel matters.
"We continue to provide weather information, forecasts and warnings pursuant to our public safety mission," Theo Stein, the spokesman, told AFP.
Environmental advocates expressed concern at the move.
Trump has reappointed meteorologist Neil Jacobs to lead NOAA, despite his role in the "Sharpiegate" scandal during Trump's first term.
Jacobs, who led the agency from 2018 to 2021, was officially censured for bowing to political pressure and misleading the public about a hurricane forecast.
The controversy erupted in 2019 when Trump claimed Hurricane Dorian would hit Alabama.
After the National Weather Service corrected him, Trump doubled down, displaying a forecast map altered with a markere. NOAA later issued an unsigned statement backing Trump, sparking backlash. Official investigations castigated Jacobs for his involvement in the statement.