Two senior national officials of the ocean and atmospheric administration who played a role in the large -scale Sharpiegate survey at the agency were on administrative leave this week.
Stephen Volz, the assistant administrator of the NOAA satellite and information service, and Jeff Dillen, assistant lawyer of the NOAA, were placed Thursday morning, Volz told NBC News.
Volz and Dillen were controversy figures at the first Trump presidency which became “known as”Peak», In which the forecasters were reprimanded for contradicting the president for a raw modification of the Hurricane card.
The NOAA confirmed on Friday that the two men had been placed on leave.
“Mr. Dillen was put on administrative leave by the main career lawyer of the department pending an examination of performance problems in recent weeks,” said Kim Doster, director of communications for the NOAA, in a statement sent by email. “In addition, Dr. Volz was put on administrative leave on an unrelated case.”
When reached by phone, Dillen refused to comment.
The high -level move arrives at a tenuous period for the NOAA, which is down of hundreds of employees after Endowment cuts and voluntary redemptions implemented by the Trump administration. The endowment and performance of the National Weather Service, which is part of the NOAA, were examined in a meticulous examination after the recent extreme meteorological events, Including the deadly Central Texas floods.
The agency is without leader as Neil Jacobs, the candidate of President Donald Trump, awaits confirmation of the Senate. NOAA expenses are also under examination. The Trump administration proposed deep discounts of the agency’s budget, although the congress reported that it did not implement such serious budgetary restrictions.
The news that Volz and Dillen were Placed on leave was reported for the first time by CNN.
In an interview, Volz said he received the news Thursday morning in a letter from the NOAA acting administrator Laura Grimm.
“The letter itself did not give any information on the cause. He said:” You are on administrative leave while waiting for an investigation into your recent public conduct “, said Volz on Friday, adding that he had” no idea “of what was the subject of an investigation.
He said that part of his work is to speak at public events, and recently participated in a press conference at a satellite launch in Japan, among other events. Volz, who has worked in the public service for 36 years, said that he had not changed his media approach or public speaking since the new administration took over.
“I give public comments on a routine basis, and I did it all my time at the Noaa. I have not adjusted it. I am prudent about my personal opinions,” said Volz. “I have not been reluctant to communicate the work we do and the difficult circumstances we are.
Volz and Dillen played roles following the “Sharpiegate” incident in 2019. At the time, Trump said that Hurricane Dorian could hit Alabama. However, the local Birmingham weather forecast office denied that the state was in danger. Trump then showed journalists a modified hurricane path marked with a black Sharpie. Later, senior NOAA officials reprimanded local forecasters in the middle of the perceived political pressure.
After the event, the NOAA hired the National Academy of Public Administration to carry out an independent assessment in allegations of scientific misconduct during the incident. The investigation revealed that Jacobs violated the noaa ethics policies.
Volz wrote a final decision About the Noaa report, which agreed with Napa’s conclusions. He said that Dillen had also worked on this document. Volz said he did not know if the opinions they were both put on leave the same day and that their link with the “Sharpiegate” relationship was a coincidence.
“Jeff was the legal advisor. I was the senior official who read the Napa report and wrote our own memo of determination, who found the fault with two officials inside the Noaa, including Neil Jacobs,” said Volz. “It is not lost for me Jeff and I both received administrative holidays on the same day and Neil Jacobs now crosses audiences and is preparing to be elected by the Senate.”
Friday evening, in a text message, doster minimized the connection of the two men, writing that “none of the actions is linked in any way or to the Sharpiegate investigation”.
Volz said that there was an employee of the Noaa, but has no access to federal facilities and that his email is “locked”.
He said he was not sure of his next steps.
“I love the work I do at the Noaa,” said Volz. “I’m not ready to walk quietly at sunset, that’s for sure.”