Hill Heat

Today, fifteen Democratic members of Congress sent a letter to Vice Admiral Nancy Hann, acting Administrator of the National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), demanding answers about efforts by President Trump and Elon Musk to unlawfully dismantle the crucial agency. In their letter, the representatives cite multiple reports of drastic planned cuts and the related invasion of the agency by Musk’s so-called “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE) lieutenants, including 30-year-old Twitter engineer Nikhil Rajpal, now listed in the NOAA directory at [email protected].

In their letter, the members state:

“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. 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.”

“Our constituents and the American people deserve answers from the Trump administration as to what their plan is and what authorities the administration is using to bully and intimidate NOAA employees with the ultimate goal of dismantling the agency.”

The letter was led by U.S. House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) and Water, Wildlife and Fisheries Subcommittee Ranking Member Val Hoyle. The other signatories were Jimmy Panetta, Frank Pallone, Salud Carbahal, Seth Magaziner, Sarah Elfreth, Suzanne Bonamici, Raúl Grijalva, Mike Levin, Ed Case, Joe Neguse, William Keating, Kathy Castor, and Jamie Raskin.

House Science ranking member Zoe Lofgren has also sent a letter to acting administrator Hann.

There will be a rally in support of NOAA at the Department of Commerce on Tuesday afternoon.

Full text of the letter:

On Friday night, an email anonymously sent from “Budget and Planning,” apparently within the Office of the Chief Financial Officer, re-froze spending on programs related to climate, clean energy, and civil rights in defiance of multiple judicial restraining orders. Programs frozen range from the Clean School Bus Program to Grants to Reduce Air Pollution at Ports.

The full text is below.

Democratic members of Congress turned away from EPA headquarters, Feb. 6, 2025

To review:

On January 27th, Matthew J. Vaeth, the acting director of the White House Office Management and Budget, issued a memorandum demanding a government-wide freeze on all programs related to climate, the environment, civil rights, and reproductive health.

On Tuesday, January 28th, the EPA froze all spending:

“The agency is temporarily pausing all activities related to the obligation or disbursement of EPA Federal financial assistance at this time. EPA is continuing to work with OMB as they review processes, policies, and programs, as required by the memorandum.”

On January 29th, the Senate confirmed Lee Zeldin as Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, with the Democratic senators from Arizona, Mark Kelly and Ruben Gallego, as well as John Fetterman (D-Pa.) joining all Republicans in support.

That same day, Judge Loren AliKhan issued a restraining order against the funding freeze.

On January 31st, Judge John McConnell issued another restraining order against the funding freeze.

On February 3rd, Judge Loren AliKhan issued a strengthened restraining order against the Trump administration’s wide-ranging freeze on funding obligations related to climate and civil rights.

On February 4th, the 24-year-old Elon Musk acolyte and effective-altruism cultist Gaultier Cole Killian was officially designated an EPA employee at [email protected].

That same day, the EPA’s acting chief financial officer, Gregg Treml, announced compliance with the restraining order:

“Consistent with the Order, the agency’s financial system will now enable the obligation of financial assistance. This includes programs within the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the Inflation Reduction Act, including federal financial assistance in the State and Tribal Assistance Grants, Brownfields, and Superfund.”

On February 6th, Democratic members of Congress were blocked by security guards from entering EPA headquarters. They then spoke to the press with environmental leaders from civil society in front of the building.

That same day, a review of financial assistance programs was announced by EPA acting deputy administrator Chad McIntosh, a former Ford environmental executive appointed to the EPA in the first Trump administration.

Email text: