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(Bloomberg) — The email arrived in US government workers’ inboxes just after 1 a.m. East Coast time on Friday, with the subject line “IMPORTANT CLARIFICATION – URGENT ACTION.”
The message went to some staff members at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA, the scientific agency best known for providing daily weather forecasts through its National Weather Service. It capped a tumultuous 36-hour period during which the future of the organization’s international collaborations hung in limbo.
Earlier this week, NOAA scientists and staff were told to log and clear all international contacts and communication, according to internal communications seen by Bloomberg News. Some meetings with overseas counterparts were put on hold pending review and approval. Confusion reigned over how workers might troubleshoot in the case of technical glitches.
By Friday, that early morning email indicated the orders concerning global interactions had been relaxed for some employees, at least for the next several weeks.
NOAA didn’t provide a comment Friday.
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NOAA staff have reportedly been threatened with “mass layoffs of 50 percent of the workforce and 30 percent of the budget” as Elon Musk’s government efficiency taskforce visited offices this week seeking access to internal information.
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Craig McLean, who served as the agency’s acting chief scientist during the first Trump presidency before retiring in 2022, said those working at NOAA are on edge in the current atmosphere.
“It’s a circus,” McLean said. “If Trump’s goal is to destabilize, humiliate and embarrass the loyal people who have chosen to work for their country and federal government, he is succeeding.”
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“It should be us feeling the gut-twisting worry,” said Jennifer Francis, a Woodwell Climate Research Center climate scientist. “If we lose NOAA’s services, we lose lives, property, and billions of dollars.”
