The Department of Government Efficiency led by Elon Musk has allegedly gained control of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration which threatens public access to weather services. Multiple sources from The Verge disclosed that this unexpected intrusion threatens to damage public access to forecasts and compromise cybersecurity and employee morale.
The National Weather Service and National Hurricane Center operate within NOAA which functions as a vital organization for storm warning alerts and climate research distribution. Workers at the agency believe DOGE’s forceful market entry indicates an organizational transformation that threatens to disable the public disaster protection capabilities of the agency. A NOAA employee called the changes “demoralizing” yet they remained at their post because they understood the significance of their work.
The way DOGE approaches its actions resembles a takeover of corporate control. According to Juan Declet-Barreto from the Union of Concerned Scientists the agency’s takeover appears to be a hostile move against an organization designed to protect lives. Official reports show DOGE officials circumvented security protocols to take control of IT systems before starting surveillance of internal staff communications.
DOGE has initiated a campaign against diversity equity and inclusion (DEI) projects by demanding NOAA personnel to remove all DEI content from their websites and internal systems and physical offices. Posters that provided information about reporting sexual harassment incidents have disappeared according to reports. Musk and Trump have joined forces to eliminate DEI programs from federal agencies while this action supports their shared initiative.
The reported access of DOGE to NOAA’s data systems created serious cybersecurity risks. Marine scientist Andrew Rosenberg stated that the intruders have access to NOAA systems but nobody knows their actual activities. The NOAA placed some of its workers on leave as employees from multiple agencies received threatening emails about resignation or major changes to their workplace.
NOAA faces the possibility of budget cuts that could reduce its workforce by half while eliminating 30% of its funding which has experts worried about private weather forecast companies taking over public weather services. Declet-Barreto expressed his concern about how vital life-saving public information would become accessible only through paying a fee.
