Democrats accuse DOGE of going after NOAA

Democratic lawmakers on Wednesday accused Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) of improperly inserting itself into the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

In a joint statement, Reps. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) and Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) said Musk’s cost-cutting group of accessing NOAA's computer systems. NOAA is charged with forecasting weather, monitoring atmospheric conditions and mapping the seas, among other things.

“Elon Musk and his DOGE hackers are ransacking their way through the federal government, unlawfully gaining unfettered access to Americans’ private information and gutting programs people depend on," said Huffman and Lofgren, the top Democrats on the House Natural Resources and Science, Space and Technology committees, respectively.

"Now they have reached NOAA where they’re wreaking havoc on the scientific and regulatory systems that protect American families’ safety and jobs.”

Science Committee Democratic staff members told The Hill that they heard of the breach directly from people at NOAA and others in the community. An aide to Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), said his office has confirmed DOGE staff entered NOAA’s Building 2 in Silver Spring, Md.

Meanwhile, Van Hollen wrote in a post on the social platform X that he was “hearing reports that Musk’s cronies are targeting NOAA — infiltrating key systems & locking out career employees.”

“NOAA is vital for weather forecasting, scientific research & more. Their critical work saves lives,” he added. “My team and I are looking into this & we will not stand for it.”

A spokesperson for DOGE did not immediately respond to The Hill’s request for comment. A spokesperson for NOAA directed The Hill to the Department of Commerce, which also did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Despite its name, DOGE is not a formal part of the federal government — it’s an outside commission set up by Musk to advise President Trump. Congressional approval is required for the creation of new Cabinet-level departments.

Among other things, NOAA houses the National Weather Service.

“Whether it be weather information, severe storm information, coastal flooding … all of that stuff matters because it results in service products that Americans rely on, whether they know they do or not,” said Andrew Rosenberg, a former NOAA official.

The Democrats’ accusations come after top security officials at the foreign assistance agency United States Agency for International Development (USAID) were reportedly placed on leave after trying to block DOGE officials from accessing internal systems.

A USAID employee has told The Hill their colleagues were being blocked from entering a USAID office in D.C. by men who identified themselves as part of the DOGE but later stepped aside.

NOAA is explicitly singled out in Project 2025, the sweeping blueprint for conservative governance published by the think tank The Heritage Foundation before the 2024 election. The document calls for privatizing parts of the agency while reassigning other functions.

Trump distanced himself from Project 2025 on the campaign trail but has taken steps echoing many of its suggestions since his inauguration, and nominated one of its primary authors, Russell Vought, to head the Office of Management and Budget.

Earlier this week, Trump nominated Neil Jacobs, a one-time acting NOAA chief, to head the agency in his second term. Jacobs was reprimanded in an internal NOAA investigation for his role in the “Sharpiegate” episode in 2019, in which Trump used a marker to extend the path of Hurricane Dorian into Alabama, with Jacobs later drafting a statement backing up Trump. The hurricane did not make landfall in Alabama.

During his confirmation hearing, Trump’s nominee for Commerce secretary, Howard Lutnick, denied any plans on his part to dismantle NOAA.

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