Two top Democrats on the House Natural Resources Committee on Monday asked for answers from National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) leadership on activity by associates of Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) at the agency.
Ranking Member Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) and Water, Wildlife and Fisheries Subcommittee Ranking Member Val Hoyle (D-Ore.) led the letter, signed by more than a dozen House Democrats, to acting NOAA Administrator Vice Admiral Nancy Hann. It follows reports last week that DOGE staffers have entered NOAA facilities, locking out career staff and demanding access to sensitive information.
Despite its name, DOGE is an organization within the executive office of the president rather than a department created by an act of Congress, which has raised concerns about the legality of its activity, particularly when it comes to funds already authorized by lawmakers.
NOAA is named as a target for privatization in Project 2025, the sweeping policy outline published by the Heritage Foundation as a blueprint for Republican governance. Trump denied any connection to Project 2025 on the campaign trail but named one of its primary authors, Russell Vought, as White House budget director.
“There have been credible reports of DOGE personnel disregarding security checkpoints, rifling through personal belongings, demanding access to computers, emails, and other sensitive information, and adding employees’ names to lists on their clipboards if they are perceived to have resisted,” the members wrote. “While this is happening at core NOAA facilities in the Washington, D.C. region, our constituents who work at NOAA labs and regional facilities across the nation fear for their jobs and their families’ futures.”
The letter comes the week after Huffman asked Natural Resources Committee Chair Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.) to investigate reports of DOGE activity at NOAA. Westerman’s office did not respond to requests for comment on that letter.
The Hill has reached out to NOAA for comment.
