Energy & Environment — Democrats accuse DOGE of going after NOAA

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View Online Energy & Environment Energy & Environment The Big Story  Democrats raise alarm bells over DOGE 'havoc' at NOAA Democrats accuse Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) of improperly inserting itself in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). © Greg Nash for The Hill In a joint statement, Reps. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) and Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) accused Musk's cost-cutting group of accessing NOAA's computer systems. NOAA is charged with forecasting weather, monitoring atmospheric conditions and mapping the seas, among other things.   "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," said Huffman and Lofgren, the top Democrats on the House Natural Resources and Science, Space and Technology committees, respectively.   "Now they have reached NOAA where they're wreaking havoc on the scientific and regulatory systems that protect American families' safety and jobs."   Science Committee Democratic staff members told The Hill that they heard of the breach directly from people at NOAA and others in the community. An aide to Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) said his office has confirmed DOGE staff entered NOAA's Building 2 in Silver Spring, Md.    Meanwhile, Van Hollen wrote in a post on the social platform X that he was "hearing reports that Musk's cronies are targeting NOAA — infiltrating key systems & locking out career employees."   Read more at TheHill.com. Welcome to The Hill's Energy & Environment newsletter, we're Rachel Frazin and Zack Budryk — keeping you up to speed on the policies impacting everything from oil and gas to new supply chains. Did someone forward you this newsletter? Subscribe here. Essential Reads  How policy will affect the energy and environment sectors now and in the future: Lethal heat waves will triple in size even if climate agreements kept, study finds Heat waves that are impossible to survive without air-conditioning could soon afflict far more of the globe than they do now, a new study has found. That change could happen even if climate change is kept within the limits of international agreements, according to findings published on Tuesday in Nature Reviews Earth and Environment.  Full Story SoCal wildfires caused as much as $164B in damage: UCLA research The two biggest blazes that recently ravaged the Los Angeles metropolitan region may have caused property damage and capital losses of up to $164 billion, new research has determined.  Full Story California water releases ordered by Trump draw criticism: 'It's going to be wasted' President Trump’s order to release billions of gallons of water in California’s Central Valley last week — with the purported goal of dousing fires 100 miles away — is being slammed as both ineffective and wasteful by experts and California lawmakers.  Full Story In Other News  Branch out with a different read from The Hill: Trump nominees for Commerce, Small Business headed for Senate floor Senators on Wednesday advanced the nominations of Howard Lutnick and Kelly Loeffler — President Trump's picks to head the Commerce Department and the Small Business Administration (SBA), respectively. Full Story What We're Reading  News we've flagged from other outlets touching on energy issues, the environment and other topics: Exxon is quietly planning a new $8.6 billion plastics plant in Texas (Grist)   A coastal California community is sliding 4 inches a week toward the ocean (SFGate) EPA lifts spending freeze on some environmental funding (Politico) What Others are Reading  Two key stories on The Hill right now: Shutdown fears grow as Trump battles multiply The odds of a government shutdown are surging as President Trump battles Democrats over efforts to freeze funding and Republicans brawl internally over the size and scope of potential cuts. Read more Tensions flare as GOP stymied in advancing Trump legislative agenda Tensions flared during a House GOP conference meeting Wednesday as the group struggles to unite around a plan to pass President Trump’s legislative agenda, delaying Speaker Mike Johnson's (R-La.) ambitious timeline for considering the sprawling measure. Read more Opinions in The Hill  Op-ed related to energy & environment submitted to The Hill: Trump has an opportunity to adopt a realistic clean energy strategy   You're all caught up. See you tomorrow!  Check out The Hill's Energy & Environment page for the latest coverage. Like this newsletter? Take a moment to view our other topical products here 📩 Privacy Policy  |  Manage Subscriptions  |  Unsubscribe  400 N Capitol Street NW Suite 650, Washington, DC 20001 Copyright © 1998 - 2025 Nexstar Media Inc. | All Rights Reserved.

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