The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has spent the last six months in turmoil, with the Trump administration drastically reducing the agency’s nationwide workforce. To make matters worse, the federal government is now demanding money from some former employees.
Three ex-NOAA staffers who were fired, rehired, then fired again this spring received notices from the federal government stating they owed a debt for healthcare coverage. The letters, shared exclusively with NBC News, were titled “DEMAND NOTICE FOR PAYMENT,” and dated June 16. They claimed the employees owed debts of up to hundreds of dollars, and if they did not pay on time, the federal government would charge interest and report them to a credit bureau.
What’s more, the employees told NBC the notices are for coverage they never even had. The letters explain that the charge is for health care premiums for the eighth and ninth pay periods of the year—after their health care plans had already expired, the former staffers said.
“They’re trying to bill me for health insurance after I was fired. I had no coverage,” Ya’el Seid-Green, a former special assistant in NOAA’s Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research, told NBC. “It’s just more salt in the wound on how incompetent all of this has been.”
It’s not clear how many received the letters. Two ex-NOAA employees told NBC they did not get any such notice. Gizmodo reached out to NOAA and the Department of Commerce—which oversees the agency—for clarification but did not receive a response at the time of publication. Kim Doster, an NOAA spokesperson, told NBC the agency could not comment on ongoing personnel matters. The federal Office of Personnel Management told NBC it did not have access to personnel or payroll records at NOAA.
Since January, the Trump administration has subjected NOAA to a whirlwind of firings, rehirings, and proposed budget cuts. In February, the newly minted Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) laid off 880 employees, about 5% of the agency’s workforce. In March, a federal judge ruled the firings illegal, and NOAA told some employees they could come back on paid administrative leave with back pay.
Then, in April, NOAA fired the reinstated workers again after an appeals court overturned the March ruling, clearing the way for the Trump administration to lay off thousands of employees. Amid this turmoil, the administration also presented staffers with buyouts and early retirement packages, which more than 1,000 employees accepted. By May, the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) estimated NOAA had lost more than 2,000 staffers—roughly 20% of its national workforce.
As if all that wasn’t enough, Trump’s 2026 budget proposal aims to slash $1.6 billion from NOAA’s budget and abolish its primary science office, erasing its weather, ocean, and climate research capabilities. If it passes, the budget would dramatically shift the agency’s longstanding mission.
Weather and natural disaster experts, as well as experts from industries dependent on weather and climate data, have been sounding the alarm. Many have urged the Trump administration to reverse course, especially after NOAA forecasters predicted an “active” hurricane season this year. In May, the UCS sent Congress an open letter signed by more than 3,000 scientists asking lawmakers to stop the “ongoing assault” on NOAA and restore the agency’s staffing and funding.
“Too many members of Congress are staying compliantly on the sidelines even as the Trump administration takes a wrecking ball to our nation’s foremost science agency,” said Rachel Cleetus, policy director for the Climate and Energy Program at UCS and a letter signatory.
Former NOAA employees are also, understandably, fed up. The debt notices are just one more slap in the face after months of chaos. “I am getting letters demanding payment of more than $14,000 for my surgery,” Seid-Green, who underwent an operation while on administrative leave in April, told NBC. “Not only did they not give us coverage we paid for, now they’re sending us debt notices for the coverage we didn’t have.”
NOAA employees aren’t the only ones suffering from the Trump administration’s recent actions. As the American public faces another active hurricane season, gutting the nation’s premier forecasting agency could prove life-threatening. Despite the shakeups, NOAA representatives have said they are prepared for hurricane season. After losing hundreds of meteorologists, radar specialists, and hurricane trackers, it’s unclear how the agency will manage.
Read the full article here
