False rumor of DOGE visit to Boulder’s federal labs sparks protest

Roughly 50 protesters showed up outside Boulder’s Department of Commerce campus Monday after a false rumor circulated that personnel from the U.S. Department of Government Efficiency were on site.

U.S. Rep Joe Neguse met with employees of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the National Institute of Standards and Technology on Monday afternoon. After the meeting, Neguse reported to the crowd of protesters that DOGE personnel were not on site, despite rumors.

He also said no further layoffs had been executed at the Boulder laboratories as of Monday.

“Our understanding based on those conversations is that contrary to what we had heard, DOGE personnel were not on site today and have not yet arrived at this campus,” said Neguse, a Lafayette Democrat.

“But I also informed the group of folks here, the citizens who share my concerns, that the personnel from DOGE could very well come in the weeks ahead. And so it’s important for us to continue to speak out and speak up because we know that when DOGE has visited other agencies, the dismantling of those agencies has soon followed … we cannot allow that to happen here in Boulder, Colorado.”

Rumors of a visit by DOGE to the federal labs inspired people to protest the department and the federal job cuts that have occurred under the Trump administration.

Waving signs at passing midday traffic on South Broadway, protesters voiced their concerns about the fate of employees whose status is jeopardized by ongoing Department of Government Efficiency efforts to drastically streamline — and significantly cut funding to — a wide range of federal offices.

Hundreds of NOAA employees were fired from their jobs nationwide on Feb. 27 as part of federal workforce cuts made by the Trump administration. A Boulder employee fired that day said she was one of 10 people in her lab who lost their positions, and estimated there were likely similar numbers let go in each of NOAA’s four main labs.

Reporting earlier this month by the Washington Post and others showed that a new proposal from the Trump administration would cut NOAA’s $6.1 billion budget by 27% overall, while effectively eliminating a research branch of that agency that is charged with improving weather and climate forecasts, natural disaster warnings, as well as the understanding of the natural environment.

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