Want to work for U.S. National Weather Service? Be ready to explain how you agree with Trump

This photo shows the U.S. National Weather Service monitoring station in Brownville, Texas, May 23, 2014. (David Pike/Valley Morning Star via AP, File)

As the U.S. National Weather Service scrambles to hire up to 450 people to restore deep cuts by the Department of Government Efficiency, potential applicants are being asked to explain how they would advance U.S. President Donald Trump’s agenda if hired.

A posting from the weather service’s parent agency seeking meteorologists asks applicants to identify one or two of Trump’s executive orders “that are significant to you, and explain how you would help implement them if hired.”

It’s among screening questions added to government job applications as part of a “ merit hiring plan” that Trump announced at the outset of his second term, and it’s not unique to the weather service positions. But some experts said they are alarmed at the prospect that a candidate’s ideology could matter for jobs in science.

“The fundamental question is, will this make forecasts any better? That’s the job of the weather service,” said Rick Spinrad, who led the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which includes the weather service, under former President Joe Biden.

“These people should be hired for their knowledge in meteorology or hydrology or information technology or physics — not civics. ... Bottom line, I’d rather have a great forecaster who’s never read an EO than a policy muck who’s taken one meteorology class,” he said, referring to executive orders.

Spokespeople for NOAA didn’t respond to emails seeking comment.

Administration targeted NOAA and weather service for cuts

Before Elon Musk left DOGE, it cut hundreds of NOAA forecasters and other employees soon after Trump took office. Experts warned that the vacancies could hurt forecasts and dangerous consequences for people if extreme weather warnings were slowed.

NOAA confirmed in early August that it had received approval to hire as many as 450 people for critical positions within the weather service after this spring’s deep cuts.

Trump has issued numerous executive orders, and applicants could presumably choose any to endorse — or none at all, since the application says responses aren’t required, only encouraged.

But Trump has consistently attacked clean energy and climate science while promoting fossil fuels such as oil, natural gas and coal, which emit planet-warming gases. One of his first executive orders, which he dubbed “ unleashing American energy,” directed agencies to sweep away any “undue burden” to fossil fuel development. That order also canceled a series of orders from Biden that addressed climate change.

Under Trump, NOAA has stopped tracking the cost of weather disasters worsened by climate change. His administration has also moved to shut down two NASA missions that monitor a potent greenhouse gas and plant health — data seen as helpful for measuring the impacts of climate change.

Trump’s second term has been marked by accusations that he has politicized science, most recently with the ouster of the head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for not being “aligned” with the president’s agenda. Separately, employees of the Environmental Protection Agency, National Institutes of Health and Federal Emergency Management Agency have issued declarations of dissent with agency actions. Some EPA and FEMA employees who signed those letters were put on leave.

Applicants are asked about the Constitution and government efficiency

Another screening question asks applicants how their “commitment to the Constitution and the founding principles of the United States” inspired them to seek the job. A third asks how they would use their skills to improve government efficiency and effectiveness.

Craig McLean, a former NOAA acting chief scientist under Biden and during Trump’s first term, said none of the questions are relevant to weather service positions. NOAA and the NWS are responsible for daily weather forecasts, severe storm warnings and climate monitoring, among other tasks.

“Asking a meteorologist to define how they as a new employee, are going to make the government more efficient is ludicrous,” McLean said. “I’d rather understand how well they are prepared to use the forecast tools and make a timely and accurate forecast.”

Jeff Masters, a meteorologist for Yale Climate Connections and co-founder of Weather Underground, said the questions amount to a loyalty test that will discourage many qualified applicants from applying.

“Whether or not you support the President’s Executive Orders will not enable a meteorologist to make a better forecast or issue a more timely tornado warning, and should have no place on a job application for the National Weather Service,” Masters said by email.

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Tammy Webber And Alexa St. John, The Associated Press