Latest news with #JeffDillen
E&E News
a day ago
- Politics
- E&E News
NOAA satellite chief still doesn't know why he's on leave
NOAA's senior-most official overseeing the agency's satellites said Monday morning he remained in the dark about why he was placed on administrative leave last week pending an investigation into his performance. 'All I've seen is what's been reported in the media,' said Stephen Volz, the assistant administrator for NOAA's Satellite and Information Service. 'I have no idea what the scope of it is.' Volz and Deputy General Council Jeff Dillen were put on leave Friday. Dillen could not be reached for comment. Advertisement Both men, longtime senior officials at the agency, were involved in an internal NOAA investigation of the agency's handling in 2019 of what became popularly known as 'Sharpiegate,' following then-President Donald Trump's unexplained modification of a NOAA-produced 'cone of projection' map indicating Hurricane Dorian's path could extend into Alabama. That was not NOAA's forecast for the storm, which didn't hit the state.
The Guardian
3 days ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
Two top Noaa officials linked to Trump's ‘Sharpiegate' incident put on leave
Two high-ranking officials at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration were placed on administrative leave on Friday, fueling speculation that the Trump administration was retaliating against them for actions taken during the president's first term. Jeff Dillen, who was serving as deputy general counsel, and Stephen Volz, who heads the agency's satellites division, led the investigation into whether agency administrators abdicated their scientific ethics when they altered the forecast of a deadly hurricane to match statements made by the president. First reported by CNN, the two were placed on leave just days before Neil Jacobs – the former Noaa chief at the center of the scandal – returns for a confirmation hearing as Donald Trump's pick to lead the agency once again. During the 2019 debacle known as 'Sharpiegate', named for erroneous marks added by marker on a National Hurricane Center map to justify incorrect claims made by the president that Hurricane Dorian would reach Alabama – a path not in line with what forecasters initially reported – left a blemish on the science-focused agency's record. The investigation, it was announced in June 2020, found Jacobs and another official had violated the agency's 'scientific integrity policy', when they succumbed to political pressure. On Friday, the agency disputed the association between the officials being placed on leave and Jacobs's nomination. 'Mr Dillen was placed on administrative leave by the department's senior career attorney pending a review of performance issues over the past several weeks,' Noaa's communications director, Kim Doster, said in an email responding to a request for more information about the incident. She added that Volz was placed on leave 'on an unrelated matter'. Doster did not answer questions about the specifics that led to these actions or about whether workers at Noaa were briefed about the decisions. Noaa staffers, who asked for anonymity out of fear of reprisal for speaking out about the issue, told the Guardian they were not told about what happened and had to learn about it on the news. They also questioned the agency's explanation. 'It is laughable that anyone could look at this and say that their situations are 'separate' when both were leads on the Sharpiegate investigation,' one staffer said. 'Both of them are brilliant, dedicated civil servants.' Former Noaa administrator Rick Spinrad, who worked closely with both Dillen and Volz, described their high integrity and dedication to the work that 'kept the agency in great shape'. 'It may just be part of the effort on the administration's part to rattle the cage,' he said, adding that before his departure from the agency there was widespread speculation about how the incoming Trump administration agenda might affect people in leadership positions. Volz, who heads a satellite division, may also have come up against the push for more private sector involvement. 'All that is speculative,' Spinrad said. 'But based on knowing these two individuals as well as I did, I was stunned that they were called out for performance-related issues – that makes no sense at all.' Noaa, long heralded as one of the most important climate research agencies, has become almost unrecognizable under the Trump administration, which hammered its anti-science agenda through a series of severe budget cuts, sharp reductions in staff, and moves to wipe data and resources on the climate crisis from public view. Trump's 'Restoring Gold Standard Science' executive order, a plan that guts scientific independence and grants political appointees greater power over what reaches the public, has further eroded the agency's mission, according to staffers familiar with the policy. Earlier this month, a policy issued by the Department of Commerce, of which Noaa is a part, outlined plans to sever all remaining probationary employees and further reduce Noaa's workforce. Probationary employees, a categorization that applies to new hires or those moved or promoted into new positions, can now only be converted to permanent hires if they are approved by political appointees. 'The Trump administration is essentially turning a vast swath of federal positions at Noaa into political positions,' one Noaa staffer with knowledge of the policy said. Volz, who is among the highest-ranking civilians at the agency, has had to oversee many of the changes in policy, including those that affect scientific integrity, CNN reported. 'This is more bad news for Noaa,' said Andrew Rosenberg, a former deputy director of Noaa's National Marine Fisheries Service, of the dismissals, adding that both Volz and Dillen were 'solid no-nonsense career professionals'. 'In other words just the sort of people this administration targets as they tear apart a science agency,' he said. 'It will weaken Noaa even more and reinforce the Trump administration's effort to ignore science and stop serving the American public while handing greater authority to political hacks.' Spinrad echoed the concerns, pointing at the series of catastrophes that have already unfolded while Noaa was at reduced capacity – challenges to forecasting extreme weather, including the devastating floods in Texas that killed at least 135 people, hamstrung efforts to continue understanding and adapting to the climate crisis, and the slide toward commercialization and politicization of the work. 'All of these activities strike me as just an effort to determine what is the limit of pain that the American public is willing to tolerate,' commenting on the level of cuts.
The Independent
4 days ago
- Politics
- The Independent
NOAA officials who led ‘Sharpiegate' investigation placed on leave after clashing with Trump hires
Two top officials at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, who led the investigation into the so-called 'Sharpiegate' scandal, were placed on leave amid clashes with the Trump administration, according to a report. Steve Volz, assistant administrator in the agency's Satellite and Information Service, and Jeff Dillen, deputy general counsel for the agency, were placed on leave this week, CNN first reported. They both worked on the investigation into the 'Sharpiegate' scandal. In 2019, President Donald Trump drew a map with a black marker depicting a path for Hurricane Dorian, suggesting it would hit Alabama. The agency then issued a statement that contradicted its own scientists and supported Trump's claims. The storm then hit near the Carolinas. An investigation later found that NOAA's leaders violated the agency's scientific integrity policy. One of those leaders was Neil Jacobs, the man the president has nominated to lead the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation's vote on his nomination is scheduled to take place July 30. A former NOAA official thought the timing of the moves was an 'interesting coincidence.' 'It's an interesting coincidence that less than a week before Neil Jacob's senate committee vote, the two dedicated career civil servants who investigated him for scientific integrity violations around Sharpiegate were dismissed from service,' one former NOAA official told CNN. A spokesperson for the agency offered explanations as to why both men were placed on leave. 'Mr. Dillen was placed on administrative leave by the department's senior career attorney pending a review of performance issues over the past several weeks,' a spokesperson told the Washington Post in a statement. 'Separately, Dr. Volz was placed on administrative leave on an unrelated matter.' Volz, who has decades of experience in aerospace and is the agency's longest-serving assistant administrator, similarly wondered whether the timing was coincidental. 'The question that I would ask is, why now?' Volz told the Washington Post. 'Maybe the desire here is to get anybody who might slow down their ability to execute their plan out of the way. I think I'm one of those people.' Discussions about privatizing some of NOAA's satellite operations have also swirled and led to clashes between the officials and new Trump hires, the Post reported. Volz has also advocated for mainly relying on the government's satellites while using private companies for data. Project 2025, a conservative blueprint for Trump's second presidency, calls for NOAA to be broken up and for the National Weather Service to 'fully commercialize its forecasting operations.' Trump has repeatedly disavowed Project 2025; many of its architects now work in the Trump administration.
E&E News
4 days ago
- Politics
- E&E News
NOAA places 2 veteran officials on leave
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration placed two veteran officials on administrative leave Friday, NOAA's communications director confirmed to POLITICO. Jeff Dillen, who was serving as NOAA deputy general counsel, and Stephen Volz, assistant administrator for NOAA's Satellite and Information Service, were both placed on leave for separate issues, according to Kim Doster, the agency's communications director. 'Mr. Dillen was placed on administrative leave by the department's senior career attorney pending a review of performance issues over the past several weeks,' Doster said in a statement, adding that Volz was placed on leave 'on an unrelated matter.' Advertisement CNN first reported the administration's move. Dillen and Volz did not immediately respond to requests for comment. It comes less than a week before the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee takes up the confirmation of Neil Jacobs, President Donald Trump's nominee to lead NOAA as its administrator. Jacobs served as NOAA's acting administrator during Trump's first term, where he found himself embroiled in the 'Sharpiegate' scandal, in which he and another NOAA official, Julie Roberts, were accused of pressuring scientists to alter the forecast of Hurricane Dorian in 2019, which killed dozens of people. Jacobs and Roberts were attempting to align the forecast with statements made by Trump, who said in the Oval Office that the hurricane would hit Alabama. In 2020, Volz led the investigation into Jacobs and Roberts, and found that the two officials violated the agency's 'scientific integrity policy.' Rick Spinrad, the former NOAA administrator under the Biden administration, said he worked closely with Volz and Dillen, and neither had expressed any opinions about the 'Sharpiegate' incident: 'I mean, these are just rock solid people,' Spinrad said. With respect to Dillen, Spinrad said: 'I relied on him heavily for his legal expertise and his acumen regarding case law.' Spinrad said he 'would characterize Steve Holz as one of the most dedicated, smartest and most savvy people I worked with.' 'This is going to be a big loss for the agency for these two people to be sent packing,' Spinrad said.
Washington Post
4 days ago
- Politics
- Washington Post
Top NOAA officials placed on leave. One said he clashed with Trump appointees.
Two high-ranking officials at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration were placed on leave this week, including one official who said he had recently clashed with officials over the Trump administration's proposals for the agency. Former agency officials said both Steve Volz, assistant administrator in the agency's satellite division, and Jeff Dillen, deputy NOAA general counsel, held positions that allowed them to push back against Trump's NOAA appointees. While the pair had only occasionally worked together while at NOAA, they also led the investigation into the 'Sharpiegate' scandal during the first Trump administration. Volz was not given an explicit reason why he was placed on administrative leave but said tensions between him and Trump's appointees had been rising. For one, Volz said he had recently pushed back during discussions of commercializing satellite operations. 'The question that I would ask is, why now?' Volz said in an interview. 'Maybe the desire here is to get anybody who might slow down their ability to execute their plan out of the way. I think I'm one of those people.' During Trump's first term, Volz and Dillen served as the senior executive and senior council during an investigation that found NOAA's leadership violated its scientific integrity policy. The agency had released a statement backing Trump's hand-drawn version of a forecast for 2019's Hurricane Dorian, which showed the storm threatening Alabama. Neil Jacobs, Trump's pick to head NOAA who is on the path to confirmation, was the acting NOAA administrator at the time. For his part, Volz said he thought it was a coincidence that both he and Dillen had been placed on leave, and that he had not received any indication it was related. In a statement, a spokeswoman for NOAA said there is no connection between the two officials being put on leave. 'Mr. Dillen was placed on administrative leave by the department's senior career attorney pending a review of performance issues over the past several weeks,' NOAA spokeswoman Kim Doster said in an email. 'Separately, Dr. Volz was placed on administrative leave on an unrelated matter.' Volz is the longest serving assistant administrator of the National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service, working in the role for 11 years across both Republican and Democratic administrations. He works alongside Trump's NOAA appointees in his capacity as Assistant Secretary for Environmental Observation and Protection. The Trump administration has not publicly endorsed privatizing satellite or weather operations. A conservative blueprint for this second term outlined proposals to privatize some of the National Weather Service work while breaking up NOAA. Monica Medina, who served as deputy administrator of NOAA during the Obama administration, said debates about privatization have occurred under many past presidents, but that rebuking those who oppose commercialization would be a concerning move. 'Career civil servants have a historical understanding of the agency, of the work, of how to run the operation,' Medina said. 'What you want is to have them feel like they can speak up and tell you when you when you might not see around a blind corner or have that crucial experience that they've had in other difficult situations.' Dillen, who has served as deputy general counsel for NOAA since 2016, could not be reached for comment. Former NOAA Chief Scientist Craig McLean who has worked with Dillen in the past said he would not be surprised if he was also active in critiquing the Trump administration from a legal perspective. 'I could easily imagine how Jeff would be the conscience of law to tell the Trump administration where and why they are wrong and unlawful in certain pursuits they might be engaging in,' McLean said. CNN first reported earlier Friday that Volz and Dillen had been placed on leave. A NOAA official familiar with the matter said that if confirmed, Jacobs intends to work closely with Irene Parker, currently the deputy assistant administrator for systems. '[Jacobs] and Irene [Parker] are both wholehearted proponents of commercializing the federal weather satellite operation, Steve [Volz] has been in their minds an obstacle to that,' the official wrote to the Post on the condition of anonymity. '[Volz's] view has been there should always be a federal backbone of satellites operating because the work we do is so sensitive and critical, the calibration needs to be so precise. But what Irene [Parker] wants is just a full commercialization of the entire process.' McLean said placing Volz on leave is legally dubious. 'Steve Volz is a career senior executive,' McLean said. 'There are rights that senior executives have, though the Trump administration has stepped on them. And to the people whose rights have been stepped on, that awaits formal adjudication and a determination.' The letter Volz received informing him of his leave, reviewed by The Post, said there would be an investigation into his 'recent conduct.' 'Conduct is very conspicuous,' McLean said. 'Conduct is one of the few reasons that somebody could be dealt with in a prejudicial manner.' The removal of the two officials comes at a time when NOAA has faced deep cuts that include hundreds of scientists and meteorologists that have left through firings, buyouts and retirements. In his confirmation hearing earlier this month, Jacobs expressed concern about cuts to Weather Service staffing. 'If confirmed, I will ensure that staffing the Weather Service offices is a top priority,' he said. 'It's really important for the people to be there, because they have relationships with the people in the local community.' And there have been even more recent resignations, including a swath of senior NOAA employees like Jeff Thomas who directs NOAA's Acquisition and Grants Office. The agency has a more than $6 billion budget, but Trump has proposed cutting it by more than one-fourth. 'We're losing experienced people,' Medina said, 'not only because they're good at what they do, in terms of taking the weather data and creating local forecasts on a timely basis every day without fail, but also because they also have the connections in communities where they are.' Volz said amid increasingly devastating natural disasters and a challenging environmental landscape, he is most concerned about experienced officials being pushed out of their positions. 'I have been through three administrations and transitions,' Volz said. 'I don't think that the execution of the mission will be directly impacted. I do think this sends a message, a very clear one, to people who take adverse opinions to what they're directed to do.'
