US President Donald Trump’s officials have fired hundreds of key nuclear staffers, raising concerns among members of Congress.
CNN reported that administration officials fired more than 300 employees from the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) on Thursday night, February 13, 2025. These staffers were responsible for managing the nation’s nuclear stockpile.
CNN sources revealed that the officials dismissed the staff as part of broader layoffs within the Energy Department, without realizing that they were overseeing US nuclear weapons.
Meanwhile, an Energy Department spokesperson claimed that “less than 50 people” were “dismissed” from NNSA and that most of them “held primarily administrative and clerical roles.”
According to the report, the recent move by the government has sparked concerns among Congress members, leading senators to visit Energy Secretary Chris Wright to express their worries over the NNSA firings.
One source stated, “Congress is freaking out because it appears DOE didn’t really realize NNSA oversees the nuclear stockpile. 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.”
Notably, NNSA employs a total of 1,800 staff across various facilities in the United States.
Furthermore, acting NNSA Administrator Teresa Robbins stated on Friday, February 14, 2025, that they had been instructed to cancel the termination of probationary employees, specifically those employed for less than a year or two.
