Apparently having little faith in the National Hurricane Center (NHC), Tuesday’s CBS Mornings strongly suggested Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) cuts and buyout offers to employees there and at their parent agency the National Weather Service (NWS) could lead to problems with forecasts this hurricane season.
In essence, it was a wink and nudge DOGE might kill you this summer and fall if you’re in the potential path of a storm.
Florida-based correspondent Manuel Bojorquez teased this fearmongering on Monday’s show:
Still, some are wondering how federal agencies that have been cut, positions that`s have been cut by the Trump administration, how that could affect forecasting and emergency response. The agency which oversees the National Hurricane Center, for example, NOAA, has shed hundreds of employees. We will explore that topic tomorrow right here on CBS Mornings.
Moving to Tuesday, featured co-host Vladimir Duthiers had a tease strongly implying those on the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts had reason to fear the future: “Ahead, how massive cutbacks at the government’s weather offices could make it harder to predict this year’s hurricanes and protect us.”
Bojorquez later began his story with straight-up doomcasting. After explaining the NHC and NWS fall under the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), he argued the 2,200 employees since January who were either fired or quit as evidence “some meteorologists are concerned that critical information could suffer.”
His anecdote came from St. Petersburg Beach, Florida resident Jill Mederos, whose home was heavily damaged in Hurricane Helene (and has made other media appearances such as here to criticize FEMA and raise concerns about the future).
“As she rebuilds, she’s worried about the Trump administration’s cuts to agencies that track storms,” he explained. He then asked: “How would you describe your level of concern when it comes to this upcoming hurricane season?”
“I feel kind of uncertain. It brings a concern as to whether the work is getting done to the best of their ability due to heavy workloads now,” she replied.
This set the table for the cuts to NHC and, to his credit, soundbites from its director insisting Americans should feel confident about the forecasts this summer (and fall) to keep them safe (click “expand”):
BOJORQUEZ: About 2,200 employees of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration or NOAA have been fired or took buyouts since January. More than 500 worked with the National Weather Service, which oversees the National Hurricane Center.
BRENNAN: We’re looking at – expecting 13 to 19 named storms, six to ten hurricanes, and three to five of those becoming major hurricanes.
BOJORQUEZ: Mike Brennan is the center’s director. [TO BRENNAN] Can you guarantee people that those cuts won’t affect forecasting?
BRENNAN: Yeah, from here at the Hurricane Center, we’re fully operational, ready for the hurricane season. Our products and services and warnings are going to go out as they always do.
But since this is the Trump administration, the liberal media no longer trust anything the government tells them.
Instead, he found former a National Weather Service meteorologist to kick dirt on these claims and question the safety of forecasts. The DOGE’d individual also defended government grants, refusing to address (at least in the soundbite) claims about it being infected with far-left activism. Unsurprisingly, the former official spoke out to CNN, NBC, NPR, and The Tampa Bay Times about the same thing, signaling to us he is part of some PR campaign. (click “expand”):
BOJORQUEZ: Brian LaMarre took early retirement from the weather service’s Tampa office. He worries about cutting newer employees.
BRIAN LAMARRE: And that really is cutting off the life blood of the agency, because these are the new minds, and those will have cascading impacts on the future.
BOJORQUEZ: He’s also concerned about the administration’s $1.3 billion cut to NOAA’s operation, research, and grants program. The administration says the cuts are necessary because, in its view, the grants “radicalize students against markets and spread environmental alarm.” But LaMarre says the research is crucial.
LAMARRE: Because that’s where the modeling comes from. That’s where advances to radar comes from, and computer technology. So, when you sever the research, you sever the operations.
He closed with Mederos dropping another kernel of doubt as to whether people will truly be safe from hurricanes this year. Wondering what her “hope” is for “this hurricane season,” Mederos jokingly said “just…a rain shower” before stating she’s hoping for “[h]onestly, accurate forecasting and for people to evacuate and for us to be able to prepare our homes.”
Within that, of course, was the implication that won’t happen.
“CBS News has confirmed that NOAA now is actually looking to hire back more than 100 employees for some of those open positions,” he added before concluding with more on FEMA.
To see the relevant CBS transcript from June 3, click here.