Two top National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration officials who played a role in the high-profile “Sharpiegate” investigation at the agency were placed on administrative leave this week.
Stephen Volz, the assistant administrator of NOAA’s Satellite and Information Service, and Jeff Dillen, a deputy general counsel at NOAA, were placed on leave Thursday morning, Volz told NBC News.
Volz and Dillen were figures in the controversy during the first Trump presidency that came to be known as “Sharpiegate,” in which forecasters were rebuked for contradicting the president over a crude alteration to a hurricane map.
NOAA confirmed Friday that the two men had been placed on leave.
“Mr. Dillen was placed on administrative leave by the department’s senior career attorney pending a review of performance issues over the past several weeks,” Kim Doster, NOAA communications director, said in an emailed statement. “Separately, Dr. Volz was placed on administrative leave on an unrelated matter.”
When reached by phone, Dillen declined to comment.
The high-profile move comes at a tenuous time for NOAA, which is down hundreds of employees after staffing cuts and voluntary buyouts implemented by the Trump administration. The staffing and performance of the National Weather Service, which is part of NOAA, have been under intense scrutiny after recent extreme weather events, including the central Texas flooding tragedy.
The agency is without a leader as Neil Jacobs, President Donald Trump’s nominee, awaits Senate confirmation. NOAA’s spending is also under close review. The Trump administration has proposed deep cuts to the agency’s budget, though Congress has signaled it won’t implement such severe budget restrictions.
The news that Volz and Dillen were placed on leave was first reported by CNN. It’s not clear exactly why they were placed on leave.
In an interview, Volz said he received the news Thursday morning in a letter from acting NOAA Administrator Laura Grimm.
“The letter itself gave no information about the cause. It said, ‘You are on administrative leave pending an investigation into your recent public conduct,’” Volz said Friday, adding that he had “no idea” what was being investigated.
He said part of his job is to speak at public events, and he recently took part in a press conference at a satellite launch in Japan, among other events. Volz, who has worked in public service for 36 years, said he had not changed his approach to media or public speaking since the new administration took over.
“I give public comments on a routine basis and I’ve done that my entire time at NOAA. I haven’t adjusted that. I’m cautious about my personal opinions,” Volz said. “I have not been reticent about communicating the work we do and the challenging circumstances we’re under. That’s probably more out front than many other people in similar positions at NOAA.”
Both Volz and Dillen played roles in the aftermath of the “Sharpiegate” incident in 2019. At the time, Trump incorrectly said Hurricane Dorian could strike Alabama. But, the local weather forecasting office in Birmingham denied the state was at risk. Trump then showed reporters an altered hurricane path marked with a black Sharpie. Later, top NOAA officials rebuked the local forecasters amid perceived political pressure.
After the event, NOAA hired the National Academy of Public Administration to perform an independent assessment into allegations of scientific misconduct during the incident. The investigation found that Jacobs violated NOAA’s ethics policies.
Volz wrote a final decision about the report for NOAA, which agreed with NAPA’s findings. He said Dillen worked on that document also. Volz said he did not know whether notices that they’d both been put on leave on the same day and their connection to the “Sharpiegate” report were a coincidence.
“Jeff was the legal counsel. I was the senior official reading through the NAPA report and writing up our own determination memo, which found fault with two officials inside NOAA, including Neil Jacobs,” Volz said. “It’s not lost on me Jeff and I were both given admin leave on the same day and Neil Jacobs is going through hearings now and getting ready to be voted on by the Senate.”
NOAA did not directly comment about whether the “Sharpiegate” investigation played any role in its decisions.
Volz said he remains a NOAA employee, but has no access to federal facilities and his email is “locked.”
He said he was not sure what his next steps would be.
“I love the work I do at NOAA,” Volz said. “I’m not ready to walk quietly into the sunset, that’s for sure.”
