Some federal meteorologist jobs cut under President Donald Trump are open again at California National Weather Service offices — but there’s a catch. Applicants are being asked to describe their support for the president’s policies and executive orders.
Four essay questions that are part of the “merit hiring plan” unveiled by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management in May are now included in the applications for new openings at the weather service. The essay questions — which have nothing to do with meteorology — are part of federal guidelines launched as part of the Trump administration’s efforts to recruit “patriotic Americans” to its workforce.
Applicants are being asked to explain how to “help advance” Trump’s priorities, answer which executive orders are “significant” to them and how they would “implement them if hired.”
Two policy experts described the questions as a Trump loyalty test. A climate scientist called them “inappropriate and misguided for a nonpartisan civil service role.” The addition of such questions goes against more than 100 years of precedent that has kept partisan politics out of civil servant hiring.
“It is concerning that this is being asked even of someone responsible for issuing a tornado warning for a neighborhood, or a flash flood watch, or a wind advisory or a fire weather warning,” said Daniel Swain, a climate scientist with UC Agriculture and Natural Resources, during an online briefing.
“It just doesn’t make sense. These aren’t partisan political roles. They never have been. They shouldn’t be now.”
The weather service is hiring two meteorologists in California, one in Monterey and another in Hanford (Kings County). Both offices have been operating at reduced staffing levels for months after the Trump administration fired early-career employees and offered early retirement to veteran workers.
The cuts left some offices in dire straits, forcing the Hanford center to close operations for a few hours each night.The weather service said Monday that meteorologists were being hired for “mission-critical positions.” The number of new job postings isn’t enough to make up for the vacancies, though. Several understaffed offices, including Sacramento, were not included in Monday’s announcement.
The weather service said more job postings were “coming soon,” but it was not immediately clear when applications would open or how long it would take to fill jobs, which is often a monthslong process. A week before the meteorologist jobs were posted, the weather service announced it was hiring hydrologists to fill vacancies at River Forecast Centers, including one in Sacramento, where flood forecasts for California’s rivers are issued.
The addition of the questions to applications stem from one of Trump’s January executive orders, which called for recruiting workers “passionate about the ideals of our American republic.” On the applications, a red star denotes that the essay questions are a required field applicants must complete, despite a note that says answers are encouraged but not required.
Potential incoming meteorologists are asked to write an essay on the following prompt:
“How would you help advance the President’s Executive Orders and policy priorities in this role? Identify one or two relevant Executive Orders or policy initiatives that are significant to you, and explain how you would help implement them if hired.”
On February 27, the Trump Administration/DOGE fired more than 600 probationary employees from NOAA and the National Weather Service, including hurricane hunters, meteorologists and storm modelers/programmers. Most were later re-hired.
Recently, the agency announced they would be hiring 450 additional meteorologists to fill advertised staff shortages gripping the agency.
The National Weather Service falls under the Department of Commerce. The Commerce Secretary is appointed by the President and answers to him directly.
I guess they’d also need to demonstrate proficiency with a Sharpie, and know where Alabama is on a map, to be ready during hurricane season.
The essay responses people must be wanting to write: “As a meteorologist, I would work to support our Great and Fearless Leader’s priorities by making the weather what he wants it to be should he ever express an opinion or preference for weather in the area of my meteorological office. In addition, I will work to end ‘woke’ weather patterns and strive to make our weather more American, and fight to prevent imports of weather from Mexico or Canada. America makes its own weather from now on!”
I hate seeing a cult of personality be forced into every nook and cranny of our federal agencies…