WASHINGTON – The semi-autonomous agency that oversees U.S. nuclear weapons production and stockpiling dismissed dozens of employees Thursday after the Trump administration denied a request for a national security exemption to stop the layoffs.
Former NNSA administrator Jill Hruby, who led the organization from July 2021 through her Jan. 20 resignation, said the cuts originally impacted “over 300” of National Nuclear Security Administration’s approximately 1,900 federal employees before the agency began reversing layoffs.
In a Friday evening statement, Department of Energy press secretary Ben Dietderich said, “Less than 50 employees were dismissed from the NNSA.” The targeted workers were relatively new employees in their probationary period, during which they don’t have civil service firing protections.
But even the reduced cuts harm the agency’s work, Hruby said.
“The consequences will be felt now and for years to come since these are highly qualified, largely STEM-trained personnel with a commitment to national security,” said the former agency head. Dietderich later said that the dismissed probationary employees “held primarily administrative and clerical roles.”
Hruby argued that the firings are “nearly guaranteed” to delay NNSA’s already-beleaguered $1.7 trillion nuclear weapons modernization programs unless reversed. In addition to weapons work, she said the cuts will negatively impact “counterterrorism, arms control, nuclear security, physical security, infrastructure modernization, supply chain integrity, and more.”
President Donald Trump’s administration has fired thousands of federal employees in recent days under the watch of Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency. The NNSA requested a national security exemption to the layoffs, but their request was denied, according to NPR.
More:Trump, Musk escalate purge as thousands fired across federal workforce
A former top nuclear official, Scott Roecker of the Nuclear Threat Initiative, said many of the NNSA’s probationary employees were likely hired specifically for the arsenal modernization effort. Roecker, who led nuclear threat reduction efforts for the National Security Council from 2014 to 2017, criticized arbitrary terminations based on employee status as “illogical” compared to ones that might occur after program reviews.
The agency’s limited number of federal employees “are the ones making the strategic decisions on how to implement projects and setting the direction for the contractors,” Roecker added.
Lawmakers also criticized the move. Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) said the firing spree “weakens oversight and could leave our nuclear stockpile vulnerable … it’s dangerously irresponsible.”
Contributing: Reuters, Joey Garrison
Davis Winkie’s role covering nuclear threats and national security at USA TODAY is funded by a grant from the Outrider Foundation. Outrider does not provide editorial input. Are you an impacted NNSA employee? Please contact Davis via email at dwinkie@usatoday.com or via the Signal encrypted messaging app at 770-539-3257.
(This story has been updated with more information after Department of Energy press secretary Ben Dietderich confirmed the final number of employees dismissed from the agency and the nature of their roles.)