The Trump administration has placed two high-ranking officials at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) on leave amid a series of efforts to make cuts at the agency.
NOAA spokesperson Kim Doster confirmed in an email that deputy general counsel Jeff Dillen and acting assistant secretary Stephen Volz, assistant administrator for NOAA’s Satellite and Information Service, were placed on administrative leave.
CNN, which first reported the news, also reported that the duo led the investigation into the “Sharpiegate” scandal, which is when NOAA released a statement rebuking a weather service office social media post that contradicted President Trump about the path of Hurricane Dorian in 2019.
However, Doster said that the decision to place the officials on leave was not related to the investigation.
Instead, she said that Dillen was placed on leave “pending a review of performance issues over the past several weeks.” She did not say what the alleged issues were.
She said that Volz was placed on leave “on an unrelated matter.”
The move comes a few weeks after the confirmation hearing of Neil Jacobs to lead the agency. Jacobs also led NOAA under the last Trump administration, including during the “Sharpiegate” scandal.
A 2020 report on the incident found that Jacobs violated NOAA’s Scientific Integrity Policy.
Jacobs told lawmakers during his confirmation hearing that “there’s probably some things I would do differently” in regards to the incident.
The Trump administration has sought significant budget cuts at NOAA, particularly to its climate research.
