Commerce Department
subagencies: Census, NIST, NOAA
DOGE made an early foray into the agency with a visit to the headquarters of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), but their presence at Commerce has seemed relatively muted in comparison to other agencies. However, DOGE has had a staunch ally in Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and reseachers are getting increasingly alarmed about DOGE interfering with the operations of the Census.
The Commerce Department contains the following important subagencies that have been affected by DOGE: - The Census Department conducts the national census every 10 years (important for redistricting) as well as other important surveys of the American public. - National Institute of Standards and Technologies (NIST) sets standards for technical products in industry (and references for units of measure). It also defines the cybersecurity requirements for software used in the federal government. - National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is most prominently known for its role in weather forecasting and climate modeling. It also charts the oceans and manages fisheries around the US.
Positions
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| Name | Positions |
|---|---|
| Nikhil Rajpal |
Source
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| Michael Grimes |
Source
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| Bryton Shang |
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| Nate Cavanaugh |
Source
GSA
c.4/09
likely detailed
«Senate Democrats note that Cavanaugh has a commerce email address. Guessing date is around detail to MBDA.»
Left govt 8/06
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Systems
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| System | Access |
|---|---|
|
Source
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Events
click for sources; full legend
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 2/04 NOAA |
Source
Sighting:
DOGE staffer Nikhil Rajpal reportedly enters NOAA facilities in Silver Spring, Maryland.
|
| 2/05 Commerce |
Source
Sighting:
DOGE staff are seen entering the headquarters of the Department of Commerce.
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| 2/14 NIST |
Source
Sighting:
NIST workers witness a handful of people that they suspect of being DOGE touring the NIST IT facilities in Gaithersburg, Maryland.
|
| March 2025 | |
| 3/28 Commerce |
Source
Sighting:
Michael Grimes conducts DOGE-style interviews with each member of the staff in the Chips Program Office. This group administers grants following the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022 (signed by Biden) to encourage semiconductor manufacturing in the US.
|
| April 2025 | |
| 4/02 NIST |
Source
Oversight:
A group of 22 house members send a letter to Commerce Secretary Lutnick expressing concern about the firing of 70 staffers at NIST.
|
| 4/11 Commerce, DOD, DOJ, DOL, DOT, EPA, Education, DOE, HHS, HUD, NARA, NASA, NEH, NSF, SBA, State, USDA, VA |
Source
Disruption:
Luke Farritor uses his admin access to lock out all government officials at multiple agencies from using grants.gov to issue new grants. Instead, all grants must now be sent to a new email address which will be reviewed by DOGE staffers before grants can be posted.
|
| May 2025 | |
| 5/XX Census |
Source
Disruption:
An internal survey reveals that over a fifth of Census Bureau leadership roles are vacant in the wake of DOGE’s efforts to reduce federal staffing.
|
| 5/16 NOAA |
Source
Disruption:
Because of DOGE-directed cuts, a National Weather Service office in Jackson, KY did not have an overnight forecaster who is able to track and forecast tornado watches for a storm sweeping across the state.
|
| 5/20 Census, DOGE |
Source
Disruption:
In a post on its X account, DOGE reports that it is working to review surveys conducted by the Census Bureau and claims to have already eliminated 5 surveys that include questions about alcohol consumption and internet usage.
|
| June 2025 | |
| 6/04 Census |
Source
Disruption:
Field representatives for the Census surveys share that the public is growing increasingly distrustful of participating in government surveys due to concerns that their data might be used against them by DOGE. This is especially true for minority and vulnerable populations, increasing the real risk of skewed statistics.
|
| 6/26 Commerce, DOD, DOJ, DOL, DOT, EPA, Education, DOE, HHS, HUD, NARA, NASA, NEH, NSF, SBA, State, USDA, VA |
Source
Official:
In an email to agency partners, the operators of grants.gov declare that the revised mechanism added in April that routed all Notices of Funding Opportunities (NOFOs) through a DOGE email address has been reversed. Instead, agencies are to return to using the tool like that did previously. This doesn’t necessarily mean that DOGE or political appointees will not be reviewing grants, but they have no longer locked other users out of the system.
|
| 6/26 DOD, NOAA |
Source
Disruption:
The Department of Defense announced that it would immediately stop ingesting and sharing data from 3 microwave-imaging satellites with NOAA’s National Hurricane Center. This imaging is used to prevent “sunrise surprises” by allowing forecasters to monitor hurricanes at night. The change is expected to degrade the quality of hurricane forecasts.
|
| August 2025 | |
| 8/05 NOAA |
Source
Disruption:
The National Weather Center announces it has approval to hire 450 meteorologists, hydrologists and radar technicians back to the department. This includes 126 new positions beyond what was cut by DOGE. Despite being a step towards restoration, this action will likely not put people in place until after the current dangerous hurricane season is over and it might be a pretext to hire more politically-aligned staff in positions with flimsier job security.
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| September 2025 | |
| 9/20 Commerce, NDS, USCIS |
Source
Interagency:
The Trump administration revamps the “Gold Card Visa” site that was originally launched in June. The visa now will cost $1 million and be an expedited EB-1 or EB-2 visa; the original proposal has been rebranded as the platinum card, which will be “coming soon.” The legality of this program still remains wildly unclear and demand is inflated because sign-up is through a public web form. This website is the first public work of recently-formed National Design Studio, although the previous version of the site was built by DOGE too.
|
| 9/27 NOAA |
Source
Disruption:
The head of the union that represents employees at the National Weather Service reports that the agency is at a breaking point, with many employees working double shifts or seeking help from neighboring offices. Two offices – in California’s Central Valley and western Kansas – lack enough staff to operate 24 hours a day.
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Questions
- Who else from DOGE was detailed to the Department of Commerce?
There were reports in early February of DOGE visiting multiple Commerce Department agencies, but Nikhil Rajpal was the only person identified at that time. Who else was involved?