Hours after an unknown number of people were fired from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA) in Boulder Thursday, a contingent of Democrat lawmakers demanded an investigation and called reports of the firings “short-sighted,” while some argued that the terminations are long overdue.

NOAA, which forecasts hurricanes and supports climate related research, is the latest agency to face layoffs in what the Trump administration described as efforts to reduce “waste, bloat and insularity” in the federal bureaucracy. The White House earlier told agency heads to initiate the “large-scale reductions in force,” targeting offices that don’t perform functions mandated by law and emphasizing “diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives.” 

Rep. Joe Neguse, D-Boulder, and U.S. Sens. John Hickenlooper and Michael Bennet penned a letter to Acting Inspector General for the U.S. Department of Commerce Rodney Anderson, imploring him to investigate ongoing efforts by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). 

“The work our scientists and civil servants do at NOAA is essential to U.S. national security, as well as the personal safety and daily lives of Americans. Dismantling NOAA or compromising its capabilities would put Americans at great risk,” they said. 

In their letter, Neguse, Hickenlooper and Bennet said NOAA employees are critical to the country’s safety, as they monitor atmospheric conditions for the Department of Defense, provide critical space weather data to monitor satellites, provide red flag warnings and help the country’s farmers better prepare for and respond to the effects of drought.

People aware of the situation who wished to remain anonymous in order to freely share information confirmed the NOAA terminations to The Denver Gazette. One who had spoken with NOAA employees said that the workers — including at least one internationally-recognized scientist — were fired so abruptly they were not given time to save their records. 

It is unclear how many Coloradans were terminated, but according to a statement from Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-WA, a ranking member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, at least 880 workers from NOAA were laid off nationally. 

Hundreds were meteorologists who conduct local weather forecasts in National Weather Service offices across the country, sources said.

Prior to the layoffs, the agency had about 12,000 staffers.

Cuts at NOAA appeared to be happening in two rounds — at 500 and another at 800, according to Craig McLean, a former NOAA chief scientist who said he got the information from someone with first-hand knowledge. That’s about 10% of NOAA’s workforce.

The first round of cuts were probationary employees, McLean said. There are about 375 probationary employees in the National Weather Service, which conducts day-to-day forecasting and hazard warning.

Today Show weather anchor Al Roker said the firings are ill-timed.

“Going into the severe weather and hurricane season, this cannot be good,” Roker wrote on X.

Not everyone believes the latest terminations are a bad thing. 

“These are regrettable but overdue changes,” said Jon Caldera, president of the Independence Institute, who lives in Boulder. “NOAA is a scientific organization. The science of paying people with money that just doesn’t exist is bad science.”

The Independence Institute is a Libertarian think tank. Caldera, who is a regular columnist of the Gazette family of newspapers, believes that government workers do not know what it’s like to live in the “real world” of the private sector.

“To say that this (the terminations) is somehow criminal or wrong doesn’t square with reality,” he said.

Trump’s administration has argued that the federal government is too bloated and too much money is lost to waste and fraud. The government has some $36 trillion in debt and ran a $1.8 trillion deficit last year, and both sides of the political agree on the need for changes.

In one memo, the White House said agencies should eliminate positions that are not statutorily mandated and focus on ways to efficiently deliver services.  

Members of Colorado’s Republican congressional delegation have said they broadly support the Trump administration’s approach.

“President Trump has made his priorities clear — to cut the waste, fraud, and abuse within the federal government,” said U.S. Rep. Jeff Crank, a Colorado Springs Republican, in a statement issued earlier this month. “I trust that this administration is working for t he benefit of the American people.”

There were no references to the terminations on the NOAA and National Weather Service websites on Friday. 

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this story.