Editor’s Note: This story was published at 5:56 p.m. on Feb. 28, 2025. It was updated at 11:06 a.m. on March 3, 2025, to include information about a rally.
During a virtual press briefing Friday, U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) slammed a decision by the Trump administration to carry out mass layoffs Thursday at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), which is headquartered in downtown Silver Spring.
“I want to say to all the NOAA employees that we’re fighting like hell to reverse these illegal actions,” Van Hollen said during the briefing with other lawmakers and former NOAA officials. “We are going to fight this at every juncture we can. … We are doing everything we can.”
On Monday, Van Hollen was slated to join a rally in support of NOAA employees outside the Silver Spring headquarters. Van Hollen warned Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick against these firings in a letter Wednesday, where he outlined why he believes the actions are illegal.
Hundreds of weather forecasters and other federal NOAA employees on probationary status were fired Thursday, the Associated Press reported. Layoffs included meteorologists in National Weather Service offices across the country.
NOAA studies and monitors the Earth’s atmosphere, oceans and coastal regions and provides daily weather forecasts, severe storm warnings and climate monitoring. The agency oversees the National Weather Service.
The layoffs and firings of thousands of federal workers in recent weeks were ordered by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) as part of Trump’s promise to cut the country’s federal workforce. According to Newsweek, more than 220,000 federal workers across the country have been laid off since Trump’s Jan. 20 inauguration.
Van Hollen said he and his congressional colleagues are planning to challenge the DOGE decisions to terminate employees in the courts.
“We are working very closely with lawyers so that the stories of what is happening are known and we can bring them to the courts,” Van Hollen said.
Some such court cases have already been successful. A federal judge ruled Thursday that terminating probationary federal workers may be illegal. and ordered the Office of Personnel Management to reverse directives to terminate federal workers.
But he noted that whether the Trump administration chooses to abide by court rulings is “a different question.”
“We’re in a whole different world in this country if Trump disregards these court orders,” he said.
While the number of Montgomery County employees affected by the NOAA layoffs were not available Friday, approximately 70,000 county residents are part of the federal workforce, according to Montgomery County Council President Kate Stewart’s (D-Dist. 4) office. That number does not include federal workers who reside in neighboring jurisdictions but work at agencies such as NOAA that are based in the county. The county government has received confirmation that more than 1,000 county residents have lost their federal jobs recently, County Executive Marc Elrich (D) said Wednesday.
“NOAA is our first line of defense against extreme weather events,” Van Hollen said. “When you close your eyes and plug your ears, people will get hurt, people will die, there will be huge property loss. This is an assault on our public safety.”
Van Hollen said the Trump administration’s decision “sends a terrible message” by laying off young scientists who were encouraged to apply for federal jobs.
Other politicians and former NOAA officials joined Van Hollen to discuss the impacts of the cuts and share their support for NOAA employees and other federal workers impacted by the mass layoffs. Among them was U.S. Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.), who apologized to the NOAA employees.
“I am very deeply sorry that you are the victims of such reckless partisan politics,” Huffman said. “You are being treated like parts instead of human beings.”
Sally Yozell, NOAA’s former policy director who now is the director of the Environmental Security Program at The Stimson Center, a think tank in Washington, D.C., said she is “appalled at the false narrative taking place” regarding federal workers.
She said the DOGE cuts are hurting “dedicated citizens who are often working behind the scenes … they are not looking for glory, they want to help the American people.”
Rick Spinrad, a former NOAA administrator, said that while specific details of the mass layoffs hadn’t been released, he has received confirmation the layoffs affected every office in the agency. He said any work being done by employees who were fired will be abandoned.
Speakers also shared concerns about how cuts to NOAA’s work would impact Americans.
Van Hollen said NOAA is the country’s “first line of defense against extreme weather events.”
Craig McLean, the former director of research for NOAA, said he is worried the Trump administration’s decision will set the country back in its status as a world leader in meteorological and oceanic science. He also expressed concern the administration may try to move NOAA headquarters out of Silver Spring, which he said is “alarming” and would impact the local community and disrupt the work of the agency.
Van Hollen expressed similar concerns and said that he is “very proud” to have NOAA in Silver Spring.
“This will have a huge impact on Maryland’s economy,” Van Hollen said. “These are patriotic people doing great work.”
Van Hollen said his main message to the county’s NOAA employees and other federal workers who have been let go is to not hesitate to pursue other job opportunities and unemployment benefits. Doing so will not preclude them from getting their jobs back if the court challenges are successful, he said.
“Whatever you do will not impede your ability to seek reemployment,” he said.
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Bethesda Today has compiled a list of town halls and other events and resources for federal workers here.
