'Must be stopped': Dems say over 800 fired from top weather agency amid DOGE audits

The country's top weather and climate monitoring agency has become the latest target of layoffs within the federal government, according to Democratic lawmakers speaking out against the Trump administration. 

At least 880 workers at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the country's national weather service, were fired Thursday, Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., said in a press release as the Trump administration works to downsize and cut federal costs.

"The firings jeopardize our ability to forecast and respond to extreme weather events like hurricanes, wildfires and floods — putting communities in harm’s way," Cantwell added.

Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., in a post on X Thursday, seconded Cantwell's claim, writing, "Today, we learned that Trump and Musk are firing HUNDREDS of vital NOAA employees — another blatantly illegal action that must be stopped."

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Democratic lawmakers say Musk is behind the layoffs at NOAA.  (Getty Images)

Another Democrat, Rep. Grace Meng, D-N.Y., also reported "unconscionable" mass firings at the weather agency.

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"Once again, the reckless Trump Administration is inflicting tremendous harm upon the American people. Today, hundreds of employees at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), including weather forecasters at the National Weather Service (NWS), were given termination notices for no good reason," Meng wrote in a statement.

Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference at the Gaylord National Resort Hotel And Convention Center Feb. 20, 2025, in Oxon Hill, Md.  (Andrew Harnik)

The reported layoffs come just weeks after Van Hollen said he heard reports that Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) was "targeting" the weather agency in early February.

Daniel Swain, a climate scientist at UCLA, wrote the cuts were "profoundly alarming" and affected "meteorologists, data and computer scientists responsible for maintaining and upgrading weather predictive models, and technicians responsible for maintaining the nation's weather instrumentation network.

Over 800 employees were reportedly fired from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration this week. (AP Images)

"This is not, in short, an acceptable setting in which to ‘move fast and break things.'"

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A NOAA spokesperson told Fox News Digital, "Per long-standing practice, we are not discussing internal personnel and management matters," adding the agency "remains dedicated to its mission, providing timely information, research and resources that serve the American public and ensure our nation’s environmental and economic resilience."