Current and former agency officials and lawmakers said the cuts could have major impacts on Americans and the economy, compromising important functions.

It defies anything that I have in my political experience to understand how stupid this is,” former Rep. David Skaggs told The Denver Post.

Hundreds of people gathered on Monday (March 3) outside National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) offices in multiple U.S. cities to protest the mass firing of employees amid reported cuts in the U.