Officials in the Trump administration fired more than 300 employees of the National Nuclear Security Administration on Thursday night, only to reverse course upon learning the workers’ responsibilities, CNN reported Friday night.
The NNSA is housed under the Department of Energy, which is tasked with researching and oversight of nuclear power and nuclear weapons, as well as energy production in general.
Citing four people familiar with the situation, CNN reported:
Sources told CNN the officials did not seem to know this agency oversees America’s nuclear weapons.
An Energy Department spokesperson disputed the number of personnel affected, telling CNN that “less than 50 people” were “dismissed” from NNSA, and that the dismissed staffers “held primarily administrative and clerical roles.”
The agency began rescinding the terminations Friday morning.
Some of the fired employees included NNSA staff who are on the ground at facilities where nuclear weapons are built. These staff oversee the contractors who build nuclear weapons, and they inspect these weapons.
It also included employees at NNSA headquarters who write requirements and guidelines for contractors who build nuclear weapons. A source told CNN they believe these individuals were fired because “no one has taken anytime [sic] to understand what we do and the importance of our work to the nation’s national security.”
The administration disputed the number of workers laid off, stating fewer than 50 were let go.
The personnel shakeup – however temporary – comes amid a purge of federal employees by President Donald Trump and “Department of Government Efficiency” head Elon Musk, who spent about a quarter of a billion dollars to return Trump to the White House. Musk and his DOGE aides have been setting up shop at various government agencies, firing staff, and freezing spending already appropriated by Congress. The moves have spurred lawsuits against the Trump/Musk administration.
“Congress is freaking out because it appears DOE didn’t really realize NNSA oversees the nuclear stockpile,” a source told CNN. “The nuclear deterrent is the backbone of American security and stability – period. For there to be any even very small holes poked even in the maintenance of that deterrent should be extremely frightening to people.”
