This Forecast Isn’t Good: NOAA Cuts Put ‘Lives At Risk’
Elon Musk’s DOGE is gutting the nation’s ability to forecast weather
One of the latest targets of billionaire Elon Musk and his team of hackers known as “DOGE” is a federal agency few Americans likely have heard of — but absolutely rely on every single day.
Working at the right hand of Donald Trump, Musk and DOGE have set their sights on the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA.
Although NOAA might be obscure, it’s home to an agency most Americans are familiar with: the National Weather Service.
Since Trump’s inauguration, Musk and DOGE have been targeting federal agencies across Washington DC, where they disrupt and dismantle their work, as well as indiscriminately fire federal employees.
Such has been the case at NOAA and the weather service, leaving Democratic lawmakers outraged.
Hundreds of workers have been forced out of their jobs.
“At a time when climate change impacts and extreme weather events are becoming more destructive and frequent, we should be expanding the life-saving research that NOAA does—not cutting it,” said Rep Maxwell Frost, of Florida. “Gutting the staff and work of NOAA isn't going to make the climate crisis disappear, it will only make communities more vulnerable—putting lives, our economy, and critical infrastructure at risk.
“In Florida, we know just how life-saving NOAA's forecasts and emergency alerts are during hurricane season,” Frost added. “Everyone, not just those who can afford it, deserves access to accurate, real-time weather information.
As has been argued before with its other activities to break up federal agencies, Sen Chris Van Hollen said that the work of DOGE is not only ill-conceived but also illegal, noting that he has contacted Trump’s new commerce secretary, Howard Lutnick, who oversees NOAA and the weather service.
“The Trump Administration’s illegal actions to slash NOAA’s workforce – indiscriminately and without cause – will only hurt vital services that Americans depend on,” said Van Hollen, who represents the state of Maryland, which is home to NOAA’s headquarters just outside the nation’s capital. “As I made clear to Commerce Secretary Lutnick yesterday: this action is flatly illegal. Americans rely on NOAA to provide both day-to-day and emergency weather forecasting, and NOAA also supports our communities by conducting vital research into environmental threats, managing our nation’s fisheries, and more. I can guarantee we will be fighting this action in Congress and in the Courts.”
It’s not just Democrats who are upset by these actions by DOGE.
The firings are “going to affect safety of flight, safety of shipping, safety of everyday Americans,” Adm Tim Gallaudet, NOAA’s former acting chief under Trump’s first term, told the Associated Press. “Lives are at risk for sure.”
Former NOAA Administrator Rick Spinrad echoed those concerns, pointing to the potential impact on extreme weather events.
“We’re getting into prime tornado time, we’re getting into planting season for the agricultural season,” Spinrad said. “It’s going to affect safety. It’s going to affect the economy.”
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