# NOAA under the second presidency of Donald Trump

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 executive orders, which affected the operations of NOAA.

## Federal employee 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.

### Effects of the terminations

A weather balloon launch station maintained by the National Weather Service in Alaska was forced to cease launches due to the terminations resulting in staff shortages. The NOAA Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory (GLERL), a branch of the Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research announced the terminations resulted in a staff shortage and the office would be taking an "indefinite hiatus". Nicole Rice, an employee at the GLERL who was terminated reported 20% of the GLERL office was terminated. Axios reported that one of the "deepest of NOAA's cuts was to the Office of Space Commerce" (OSC). Researchers, including dual-role University of Oklahoma (OU)-federal researchers at the National Weather Center, located on the OU campus were terminated, which included students in the OU School of Meteorology. Ten employees were fired from the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory, located on at Princeton University.
On March 4, the National Weather Service office in Paducah, Kentucky cancelled their student volunteer program and to "suspend new arrangements for prospective meteorology students to shadow at our office" due to the terminations. The National Weather Service office in Boston, Massachusetts, had over 36% of its staff terminated, leaving only seven meteorologists, which is four less than what is required for minimal staffing to run the 24/7 office. On March 7, the National Weather Service offices in Albany, New York, and Gray, Maine, stopped launching weather balloons due to staffing issues from the terminations. The terminations are expected to cause a loss in the ability to predict events such as blizzards and tornadoes, not only affecting the U.S. but neighboring Canada as well.

## Involvement of DOGE

On February 4, 2025, The Guardian reported employees of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) had entered the headquarters of the NOAA in Silver Spring, Maryland, reporting "they apparently just sort of walked past security and said: 'Get out of my way,' and they're looking for access for the IT systems, as they have in other agencies". ABC News reported on February 6 that DOGE employees had gained access to the NOAA computer systems. Staff from the NOAA Information Technology group and the Department of Commerce attempted to keep the operatives from the systems according to security protocols, but the operatives defied authorized security staff and forcefully entered the facilities. Two Democratic Congress members characterized DOGE's presence in NOAA systems as "hackers". NOAA staff noted that the actions of the operatives could directly cause risk to human life by hindering NOAA and National Weather Service operations. ABC also reported that operatives were also looking for anything connected to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) on bulletin boards and were inspecting bathroom signs to ensure compliance with Trump's executive orders.
On February 12, Grist reported that the Trump administration started to shrink the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), nearly 170 employees at the EPA's Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights were placed on paid administrative leave. On March 2, Ryan Maue, the chief scientist for NOAA during the first presidency of Donald Trump, suggested on X that the United States House of Representatives should redirect all NOAA funds saved by DOGE to the National Weather Service.
On March 9, The Salt Lake Tribune reported the wife of Brent Pounds, a former officer for the NOAA Commissioned Officer Corps, was assisting DOGE and was giving notes to Elon Musk.

### NOAA contract involvement

On February 17, 2025, DOGE released the names of 1,127 federal contracts spanning 39 federal departments and agencies, including the NOAA, that DOGE says had been terminated. A Wall Street Journal analysis of these over 1,000 contracts found inaccuracies of DOGE's reported savings, including counting contracts multiple times, listing contracts that have already been paid as savings, and misrepresenting potential savings based on contract limits rather than actual spending. On February 24, 2025, DOGE released more documents, with the total nearing 2,300 contracts released. The Associated Press found that "nearly 40%" of the terminated contracts would not save the government any money. On March 1, NOAA, at the recommendation of DOGE, terminated the University of Maine's multi-million-dollar Maine Sea Grant, saying "it has been determined that the program activities proposed to be carried out in Year 2 of the Maine Sea Grant Omnibus Award are no longer relevant to the focus of the Administration’s priorities and program objectives". This grant termination has not been announced by DOGE.
As of March 19, 2025, DOGE released 31 NOAA-specific contracts it claims to have terminated, partially terminated, or interacted with.
| NOAA department | Contract value | Claimed savings | Description/Notes |
| NOS | $163,478 | $9,800 | DOGE announced the termination of a contract with Elevate USA Inc. for "DEIA training" for the National Ocean Service (NOS). |
| NMFS | $421,548 | $366,000 | DOGE announced the termination of a contract for "DEIA support services" for the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). |
| NMFS | $348,400 | $164,840 | DOGE announced the termination of a contract for "DEIA support services" for the National Marine Fisheries Service's Human Capital Management Office (NMFS HCMO). |
| NMFS | $1,681,746 | $1,034,304 | DOGE announced the partial termination of a contract for the National Marine Fisheries Service's "first-ever national Equity and Environmental Justice (EEJ) Strategy to guide the agency as it focuses on serving all communities more equitably and effectively. |
| OAR | $106,250 | $0 | DOGE announced the termination of a contract for the Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR) for "non-personal service for JEDI training". The company contracted by NOAA, The Avarna Group LLC, has a company expiration date of January 6, 2026. |
| OAR | $300,000 | $0 | DOGE announced the termination of a contract for the Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research for study on "diversity, equity, inclusion, belonging, accessibility, and justice on the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) Independent Science Studies (NASISS)". |
| NWS | $990,087 | $0 | DOGE announced the termination of a contract for an "organizational climate assessment" for the National Weather Service (NWS) on February 13, 2025. On February 3, prior to the termination, NOAA, at the recommendation of DOGE, modified the contract’s value down to $944,319. |
| OAR | $439,282 | $0 | DOGE announced the termination of a contract for a "study on equitable distribution of fisheries management" for the Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research. |
| OAR | $9,900,000 | $0 | DOGE announced the partial termination of a contract for "strategic foresight and performance management consultant services" for the Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research. |
| NMFS | $184,000 | $0 | DOGE announced the termination of a contract that would provide "training on equity and environmental justice" to the National Marine Fisheries Service. Per the receipt released by DOGE, it was "last modified" in September 2024. |
| OAR | $27,000 | $0 | DOGE announced the termination of a contract with an Australian company to "revise and update the Atlantis Ecosystem model to support NOAA's Earth System Model framework to project the response of fishes and food webs under scenarios of future climate change and invasive species" for the Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research. Per the receipt released by DOGE, it was "last modified" in September 2024. |
| OAR | $500,000 | $0 | DOGE announced the termination of a contract with the National Academy of Sciences for a "study on drought and climate change" for the Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research. Per the receipt released by DOGE, it was "last modified" in June 2024. |
| OAR | $643,158 | $0 | DOGE announced the termination of a contract to provide "science related communication services" to the Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research. The termination reason stated by DOGE was that the "company is associated with others not in-line with the President's Agenda". |
| OAR | $643,880 | $107,313 | DOGE announced the termination of a contract to provide "science related communication services" to the NOAA Climate Program Office (CPO). The termination reason stated by DOGE was that the "company is associated with others not in-line with the President's Agenda". |
| NMFS | $3,204,694 | $2,598,174 | DOGE announced the termination of a contract to provide "video and digital media communications support, video production, & podcasts production" to the National Marine Fisheries Service. |
| OAR | $96,639 | $0 | DOGE announced the termination of a contract for the University of Illinois to "receive, review, and manage data" for the World Data Center and to "establish best practices for data and metadata formatting" for the United Nations' World Meteorological Organization. |
| NWS | $199,867 | $0 | DOGE announced the modification of a National Weather Service (NWS)-funded contract from For Your Information, Inc. due to the contracting company being an "office of facilities staffing analysis". The released receipt by DOGE stated the modification was to "extend period of performance by 6 months". |
| OAR | $36,805 | $5,257 | DOGE announced the termination of a contract for "coaching services for multiple staff transitioning to a supervisory position" in the NOAA Physical Sciences Laboratory through June 2025. |
| OCAO | $80,922 | $55,998 | DOGE announced the termination of a contract for the NOAA Office of the Chief Administrative Officer (OCAO) for "archibus and builder tools, training, and development" from Golden Wolf, LLC. |
| OAR | $140,000 | $105,000 | DOGE announced the termination of a contract that was "to provide NOAA with a gold standard partnership at the annual Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU) Conference". |
| NMFS | $277,521 | $130,490 | DOGE announced the termination of a contract for the "development of strategic and implementation plans" for the NOAA Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center. |
| NMFS | $249,977 | $146,322 | DOGE announced the termination of a contract for an "EEJ project cultural liaison" for the NOAA Pacific Islands Regional Office. |
| OAR | $466,884 | $158,625 | DOGE announced the termination of a contract for an "outreach coordinator on the science, engineering and technical support services" for the Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research. |
| NOAA | $567,840 | $189,280 | DOGE announced the termination of a contract for NOAA' Nursing Mother Program Support. |
| NOS | $846,483 | $227,750 | DOGE announced the termination of a contract for "program office coordination and operations support services" for the National Ocean Service. |
| OAR | $590,273 | $446,920 | DOGE announced the termination of a contract for "science, engineering, and technical support services" and "other environmental services" from FedWriters, Inc. for the Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research. |
| NOAA | $1,052,914 | $631,748 | DOGE announced the termination of a contract for "project and program management" for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Per the receipt released by DOGE, the contract was "last modified" in September 2023. |
| OAR | $2,014,381 | $1,073,496 | DOGE announced the deobligation of $1,073,496 from NOAA's Uncrewed Systems Research Transition Office (UxSRTO), managed by the Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research. In July 2023, NOAA's UxSRTO reported they had found "no significant impact for the funding, procurement, and operation of NOAA small uncrewed aircraft systems", and the UxSRTO program was shut down by the OAR in March 2024. |
| NOS | $2,383,700 | $1,854,912 | DOGE announced the termination of a contract for "scientific and technical support services for spatial planning" for NOAA's National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS). This contract was over 10.5% of the total NCCOS budget. |
| OAR | $199,160 | $132,210 | DOGE announced the termination of a contract for "nonpersonal services to complete manuscript presenting updated pCO2 climatology" from Columbia University's trustees for the NOAA Global Monitoring Laboratory (GML). |
| NMFS | $148,494 | $74,864 | DOGE announced the termination of a contract for "administrative support services" for the NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service's California Coastal Office (CCO). |

### Lease terminations

On March 3, 2025, The Verge & Axios reported leaked information from DOGE saying, NOAA was planning to terminate the building leases for the National Centers for Environmental Prediction's building in College Park, Maryland, which also houses the Environmental Modeling Center and the Weather Prediction Center, and the Radar Operations Center's building on the University of Oklahoma's campus in Norman, Oklahoma. On March 5, M. Scott Carter, the chief political reporter for The Oklahoman, falsely reported "the National Weather Center is among many Oklahoma offices that have been included on a Department of Government Efficiency list of federal buildings to be closed". On March 17, ABC News, reporting from the word of an anonymous NOAA spokesperson, stated the Storm Prediction Center (SPC), located in National Weather Center, was set to be closed by DOGE. ABC News also reported the SPC office was listed on DOGE's website, however, as of March 18, DOGE's website says its most recent update was on March 11.
On March 5, 2025, DOGE announced the termination of 19 various NOAA building leases. On March 19, DOGE removed two of the lease terminations, leaving only 17 NOAA building leases to be terminated.
| NOAA branch | Location | Annual lease cost | Claimed savings | Description/Notes |
| NOAA OLE | Seward, Alaska | $22,665 | $24,554 | DOGE announced the termination of a 922 square feet (85.7 m$^2$) office space for the NOAA's Fisheries Office of Law Enforcement in Seward, Alaska. |
| Unknown | Juneau, Alaska | $20,520 | $1,710 | DOGE announced the termination of a 1,595 square feet (148.2 m$^2$) office space for NOAA, without listing what branch used the space. |
| NOAA MNMS | Newport News, Virginia | $17,890 | $5,963 | DOGE announced the termination of a 911 square feet (84.6 m$^2$) office space for NOAA in Hampton, Virginia. This was actually a lease termination for the NOAA Monitor National Marine Sanctuary in Newport News, Virginia. |
| NOAA CFLSIO | Seffner, Florida | $21,855 | $7,285 | DOGE announced the termination of a 1,525 square feet (141.7 m$^2$) office space for the NOAA's Central Florida Lot Seafood Inspection Office (CFLSIO) in Seffner, Florida. |
| Air Resources Laboratory’s Field Research Division | Idaho Falls, Idaho | $69,756 | $488,290 | DOGE announced the termination of a 13,681 square feet (1,271.0 m$^2$) office space for NOAA's Air Resources Laboratory’s Field Research Division (NOAA ARL) in Idaho Falls, Idaho. |
| Unknown | Salem, Oregon | $8,040 | $670 | DOGE announced the termination of a 236 square feet (21.9 m$^2$) office space for NOAA, without listing what branch used the space. However, according to the Department of Commerce, NOAA had no offices in Salem, Oregon. |
| Unknown | Hilo, Hawaii | $164,391 | $150,692 | DOGE announced the termination of a 4,638 square feet (430.9 m$^2$) office space for NOAA, without listing what branch used the space. |
| Unknown | Baton Rouge, Louisiana | $71,102 | $59,251 | DOGE announced the termination of a 2,400 square feet (220 m$^2$) office space for NOAA, without listing what branch used the space. On March 19, DOGE removed this lease terminations from their list as it was no longer set to be terminated. |
| NOAA OLE | Salisbury, Maryland | $10,882 | $2,720 | DOGE announced the termination of a 826 square feet (76.7 m$^2$) office space for NOAA's Fisheries Office of Law Enforcement in Salisbury, Maryland. |
| Unknown | Northfield, New Jersey | $29,265 | $43,898 | DOGE announced the termination of a 1,035 square feet (96.2 m$^2$) office space for NOAA, without listing what branch used the space. |
| Unknown | Port Angeles, Washington | $100,232 | $217,169 | DOGE announced the termination of a 4,556 square feet (423.3 m$^2$) office space for NOAA, without listing what branch used the space. |
| NOAA NOS | Key Largo, Florida | $252,011 | $1,449,064 | DOGE announced the termination of a 7,993 square feet (742.6 m$^2$) office space for the NOAA's Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary and Eco Discovery Center, a branch of the National Ocean Service, located in Key Largo, Florida. |
| NOAA OLE | Sunrise, Florida | $51,429 | $77,144 | DOGE announced the termination of a 1,858 square feet (172.6 m$^2$) office space for NOAA's Fisheries Office of Law Enforcement in Sunrise, Florida. |
| Unknown | Boise, Idaho | $111,448 | $27,862 | DOGE announced the termination of a 5,156 square feet (479.0 m$^2$) office space for NOAA, without listing what branch used the space. |
| NOAA ROC | Norman, Oklahoma | $484,325 | $4,157,122 | DOGE announced the termination of the NOAA Radar Operations Center's 18,743 square feet (1,741.3 m$^2$) building on the University of Oklahoma campus, in Norman, Oklahoma. Information on this termination was leaked to the press two days before the formal release/announcement by DOGE. On March 19, DOGE removed this lease terminations from their list as it was no longer set to be terminated. |
| Unknown | Narragansett Pier, Rhode Island | $23,937 | $197,484 | DOGE announced the termination of a 674 square feet (62.6 m$^2$) office space for NOAA, without listing what branch used the space. |
| NOAA RGA | Barre, Vermont | $9,310 | $12,413 | DOGE announced the termination of a 287 square feet (26.7 m$^2$) office space for NOAA's Regional Geodetic Advisor (RGA) in Barre, Vermont, which serves as the liaison between NOAA and the U.S. National Geodetic Survey. |
| Unknown | Eureka, California | $19,793 | $65,977 | DOGE announced the termination of a 823 square feet (76.5 m$^2$) office space for NOAA in Eureka, California, without listing what branch used the space. According to the NOAA, the only office in Eureka is the National Weather Service's Weather Forecast Office (WFO). The Los Angeles Times reported the office space is an outpost of the National Marine Fisheries Service. |
| NOAA OLE | Wall, New Jersey | $51,262 | $179,417 | DOGE announced the termination of a 1,768 square feet (164.3 m$^2$) office space for NOAA's Fisheries Office of Law Enforcement in Wall, New Jersey. |

## Other changes

Following Executive Order 14172, signed by President Donald Trump on January 20, 2025, the National Weather Service changed all maps and products to refer to the Gulf of Mexico as the "Gulf of America."
In March 2025, amid the 2025 United States government online resource removals, an unknown executive order signed by President Donald Trump resulted in the NOAA Radar Next Program Overview document being removed from NOAA servers.