A crowd of protesters gathered outside the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s offices in Boulder early Monday after word spread that employees from the Department of Government Efficiency — the Elon Musk-led initiative overseeing sweeping cuts to federal spending — had entered the building.
The rumors turned out to be unfounded, according to Rep. Joe Neguse, who visited the site Monday afternoon. But the speed and scale of the response from the Boulder community reflected a deeper anxiety: a proposed nearly $1.7 billion cut to NOAA, part of the Trump administration’s 2026 budget plan, that could shutter major divisions of the agency and eliminate hundreds of jobs in Boulder alone.
According to a leaked White House document, the administration is seeking to eliminate NOAA’s Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR), which employs more than 400 people in Boulder — over half of Boulder NOAA’s workforce. The proposal would also cut funding entirely for NOAA’s cooperative institutes, including the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES), a key research partner housed at CU Boulder.
While the cuts would require approval from Congress, the administration is pressing ahead. A White House “passback” memo instructs the Department of Commerce to align current year operations with the proposed 2026 budget as much as legally possible.
“OMB expects that the Department will exercise all allowable authorities and flexibilities to align the 2025 operating plans with the 2026 Passback,” the leaked passback memo reads. “This includes reducing funding from areas that are not funded in Passback to areas that are protected or increased.”
Rapid protest, persistent rumors
The protest in front of NOAA’s David Skaggs Research formed less than an hour after word spread that DOGE staff might be inside. It grew quickly, drawing more than 100 people — including former U.S. Rep. David Skaggs, for whom the building is named, Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser and Neguse.
Most early arrivals heard about the protest through Democratic Women of Boulder County and the progressive organization Indivisible, but word of mouth quickly broadened the turnout.
“I think it is a good sign that so many citizens are ready to take to the streets to let the world know that we’re not going to put up with this crap,” Skaggs told Boulder Reporting Lab.
DOGE, created under Musk’s direction, has become a flashpoint for federal employees. Its operations are opaque and exempt from public records laws. Its agents are reported to visit agencies unannounced and without identifying themselves. News outlets have published DOGE employees’ names and images to make them more identifiable.
Rumors on Monday — including some from within NOAA — suggested that DOGE personnel had arrived at the visitor entrance but were turned away for lack of paperwork. Security officers on site said they had no evidence to support that; Neguse confirmed that DOGE was not present.
“We’re going to continue to stay vigilant. Because obviously we know that, while DOGE may not have appeared today, that that may not be the case tomorrow, or later this week, or in the weeks that follow,” Neguse told the concerned crowd.
A collapsing workforce
Inside the building, scientists described an atmosphere of fear and uncertainty. One Boulder-based researcher, who asked not to be named, said morale has cratered. Colleagues were advised to “have a plan B,” he said, and many are applying for jobs in private industry, state government and academia.
He said people go home each weekend thinking, “Well, we’re going to be destroyed.” Already, about 80 probationary employees — roughly 10% of NOAA’s Boulder workforce — have been terminated.
The scientist added that an estimated 15% of his lab colleagues are on work visas, typically tied to education or speciality occupations, and could be forced to leave the country if their positions are eliminated.
“One of the directors of my lab came in to talk to me about things the other day, and just burst into tears,” he said. “They don’t have any special knowledge, but they see what’s coming down the pike.”
Neguse rejected the administration’s interpretation of its authority to carry out budget changes prior to congressional approval.
“I don’t believe that they have the flexibility,” he told Boulder Reporting Lab. “I am certainly working with my colleagues to convince the Secretary of Commerce and the folks at OMB that to proceed on that basis would be disastrous — for our national security, disastrous for our planet, certainly disastrous for the state of Colorado.”
He said he is assembling a bipartisan coalition of lawmakers whose districts are home to federal labs and research centers that may be vulnerable to similar cuts.
Bigger than Boulder
While the rumors of a DOGE visit dominated Monday’s protest, scientists and advocates say the larger threat is systemic: the dismantling of the country’s climate science infrastructure.
The White House budget proposes cutting nearly $1.7 billion — about 25% — from NOAA’s funding, prioritizing funding for trade policy and deregulation while slashing programs focused on environmental monitoring, weather prediction and ocean science. The cuts would eliminate all Department of Commerce funding for CIRES, one of the largest research institutes of its kind in the world, and severely constrain NOAA’s ability to support international climate models, early warning systems and disaster forecasting.
“The executive branch is seeking to undermine the will of Congress and to take the power that it doesn’t have, which is to decide what programs to fund,” Weiser told Boulder Reporting Lab.
He said he fears the Trump administration will attempt to dismantle NOAA through large-scale firings, as it has done at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Department of Education.
“The trip wires are, do they fire employees illegally? Do they cut programs illegally? And do they take other steps that violate the law? If we see any evidence of that happening — like we’ve done before, like we’ll do again — we go to court to stop it.”
Others at the protest echoed his concern.
“Today we’re here because what DOGE is doing is patently illegal,” said Kenneth Nova, who works with Indivisible. “They’re not a part of any official government agency. They’re not a committee of the Congress.”
“These institutions have always been jewels in Boulder and science is important,” said Jennifer Roos, who came to protest. “This whole thing is just heartbreaking.”
Thank you for your timely and clear reporting on the local protests, Brooke. So important.