Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency is now targeting the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, sparking concerns that the Trump administration may be considering dismantling the federal agency.
On Tuesday, staffers with DOGE unexpectedly entered the headquarters of NOAA located in Silver Spring, Maryland, and demanded access to confidential systems, according to a former NOAA official.
Andrew Rosenberg, who worked at NOAA under the first Bush administration and Clinton administration, told the Washington Examiner that the staffers “blew past security like it didn’t apply to them, and then wandered around for a while and asked…to have access to the IT systems.”
“As far as I know, they have access to the IT systems. We know certainly that some of the DOGE people are into the websites. They’re into the grant system, they’re into the email system,” Rosenberg said.
“My understanding is they’re essentially executing an on-site hack. I would say illegal hack because those are confidential systems,” he added.
Rosenberg said that DOGE, which is not a formal cabinet agency and is a part of the White House, is not conducting any review or analysis but instead looking at how to “massively cut the agency in people and budget.”
A source familiar with the incident at the agency told Axios that the staffers were, in fact, looking for employees and content related to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion initiatives.
Agency sources who were made anonymous over the fear of retribution told the outlet that employees have been asked to give at least one DOGE employee access to various internal intranet sites. This includes information and resources for groups, such as Women at NOAA and Pride at NOAA.
Rosenberg told the Washington Examiner that there is no “legal basis” allowing DOGE to access these documents or to reorganize the agency.
Democratic lawmakers have lambasted DOGE’s efforts to access the ocean and atmospheric agency’s systems, accusing the Musk-led commission of “ransacking” the federal government.
“Elon Musk and his DOGE hackers are ransacking their way through the federal government, unlawfully gaining unfettered access to Americans’ private information and gutting programs people depend on,” Reps. Jared Huffman (D-CA) and Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) said in a joint statement obtained by the Hill.
“Now they have reached NOAA where they’re wreaking havoc on the scientific and regulatory systems that protect American families’ safety and jobs,” the Democrats added.
Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) also criticized the move in a post to X saying, “NOAA is vital for weather forecasting, scientific research & more. Their critical work saves lives. My team and I are looking into this & we will not stand for it.”
NOAA was established by President Richard Nixon in 1970 under the Department of Commerce. Its primary functions are to study and monitor the ocean and atmosphere, operate satellites, protect marine life, and provide extreme weather warnings.
The agency was one of several targeted for reforms by Project 2025, which called for the administration to break up NOAA. President Donald Trump Trump repeatedly distanced himself from the policy blueprint created by the Heritage Foundation while on the campaign trail.
Since he took office, though, various policy recommendations from the document have appeared to make their way into a number of executive orders and administration actions. Trump nominated Russell Vought, one of the document’s primary authors, to head the Office of Management and Budget.
As a result, fears have grown within NOAA that the administration could be considering shutting down the agency, as it has already started to do so with USAID. This week, Trump ordered nearly all USAID employees off their jobs after hundreds were locked out of computer systems and the agency headquarters.
“There’s an expectation it will,” Rosenberg said of NOAA becoming another USAID situation. “There’s the expectation that that’s happening every place they go. The goal is to break things.”
Howard Lutnick, who has been nominated to lead the Commerce Department, told Congress during his confirmation hearing that he has no interest in shuttering NOAA if confirmed.
“That is not on my agenda,” Lutnick said.
DOGE’s move into the NOAA headquarters comes the same week that Trump nominated Neil Jacobs to serve as NOAA administrator – a role he previously held on an acting basis during the first Trump administration.
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Jacobs, 51, is most well known for his ties to the “Sharpiegate” scandal, during which Trump altered a hurricane warning map to include Alabama in the possible pathway of Hurricane Dorian.
When asked for more information, NOAA directed the Washington Examiner to the Department of Commerce, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment.