Democrats warn that cutting jobs at Noaa ‘will cost American lives’ – key US politics stories from Wednesday at a glance. The Trump administration has fired hundreds of workers at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa), the US’s pre-eminent climate research agency housed within the Department of Commerce, the Guardian learned on Thursday.
“This will cost American lives,” said Democratic congresswoman and ranking member of the House science, space and technology committee, Zoe Lofgren, in a written statement. Her comments were issued alongside congressman Gabe Amo’s, the ranking member of the subcommittee on environment, after news of the firings broke.
“By firing essential staff who work tirelessly on behalf of the American people, President Trump and Elon Musk are playing politics with our national security and public safety,” Amo said. “Leaving Noaa understaffed will inevitably lead to additional chaos and confusion – I call on them to rehire these public servants immediately before preventable tragedy strikes.”.
On Thursday afternoon, the US commerce department sent emails to Noaa employees saying their jobs would be cut off at the end of the day. Other government agencies have also seen huge staffing cuts in recent days. The firings specifically affected probationary employees, a categorization that applies to new hires or those moved or promoted into new positions, and which makes up roughly 10% of the agency’s workforce.
“The majority of probationary employees in my office have been with the agency for 10+ years and just got new positions,” said one worker who still had their job, and who spoke to the Guardian under the condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal. “If we lose them, we’re losing not just the world-class work they do day to day but also decades of expertise and institutional knowledge.”.
Read the full story. Donald Trump has threatened China with an additional 10% tariff on its exports to the US, setting the stage for another significant escalation in his trade war with Beijing. The US president also claimed that he plans to impose tariffs on Canada and Mexico starting next Tuesday, having delayed their imposition last month after talks with his counterparts.
Donald Trump has insisted that Vladimir Putin would “keep his word” on a peace deal for Ukraine, arguing that US workers extracting critical minerals in the country would act as a security backstop to deter Russia from invading again. During highly anticipated talks at the White House with the prime minister, Keir Starmer, the US president said that Putin could be trusted not to breach any agreement, which could aim to return as much of the land as possible to Ukraine that was seized by Russia during the brutal three-year conflict.
The Trump administration is pushing for federal agencies to carry out a large-scale slashing of the federal workforce, demanding plans for hundreds of thousands of possible cuts within weeks. A White House memo gave officials until 13 March to submit a plan identifying “agency components and employees performing functions not mandated by statute or regulation who are not typically designated as essential” during government shutdowns.
The Trump administration has cancelled a meeting of scientific experts called to discuss next winter’s flu shots in a move that has underscored fears of emerging anti-vaccine polices under the new health secretary, Robert F Kennedy Jr. Mexico has extradited 29 high-level organised crime operatives to the US, as it faces intense pressure from the Trump administration to show that it is tackling fentanyl trafficking.
The extraditions come as Mexico tries to convince the US to postpone 25% tariffs on all Mexican imports. Donald Trump has tied the tariffs to results on fentanyl trafficking and migration, without setting any specific targets. A federal judge in California has temporarily blocked the Trump administration from ordering the US defense department and other agencies to carry out the mass firings of some employees.
The Trump administration has terminated its funding of the joint United Nations program on HIV/Aids, known as UNAids, delivering another devastating blow to the global fight against the disease. A coalition of educators has filed a lawsuit to block the US Department of Education from enforcing new Donald Trump-imposed civil rights guidelines that target a range of practices related to diversity, equity and inclusion.
Exclusive: The majority of Americans believe the economy is getting worse rather than better, even as Republican views on the nation’s finances have performed a dramatic backflip since Donald Trump’s re-election, according to a poll conducted for the Guardian.
The Trump administration has taken down the online application form for several popular student debt repayment plans, causing confusion among borrowers and likely creating complications for millions of Americans with outstanding loans. The Social Security Administration is expected to lay off at least 7,000 people from its workforce of 60,000, the Associated Press reported. The workforce reduction could be as high as 50%, according to a person who spoke on the condition of anonymity. Those seeking payment plans are unable to access the applications for income-driven repayment plans (IDRs), which cap what borrowers must pay each month at a percent of their earnings, as well as the online application to consolidate their loans on the US Department of Education website.
