Trump administration officials have fired more than 300 employees of the National Nuclear Security Administration, the agency responsible for managing the nationʼs nuclear stockpile.
This was reported to CNN by sources.
A Department of Energy spokesperson denied the number of staff cuts, telling CNN that "fewer than 50 people" were laid off from NNSA, and that the laid-off employees "were mostly in administrative and clerical positions".
Among those fired were NNSA employees who work at facilities where nuclear weapons are created. These employees oversee contractors who create nuclear weapons and also inspect those weapons.
Also among those laid off were NNSA headquarters staff who write requirements and instructions for contractors who build nuclear weapons. CNN sources believe these people were fired because "no one took the time to understand what we do and the importance of our work to the countryʼs national security".
Members of Congress have brought their concerns about layoffs at NNSA to the attention of the Department of Energy, a congressional staffer told CNN.
“Congress is going crazy because the Department of Energy apparently didn’t realize that the NNSA controlled the nuclear stockpile. Nuclear deterrence is the foundation of American security and stability — period. Even very small holes in maintaining that deterrence should be extremely frightening to people,” the source emphasized.
- The layoffs are part of the new White House administrationʼs efforts to reduce the number of civil servants. To this end, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), headed by Elon Musk, was created.This is not a federal department, but an external advisory group that will recommend the necessary staff reductions in their opinion. The president and the legislative branch of the US Congress will make the final decisions.
For more news and in-depth stories from Ukraine please follow us on X.