Congress looks to protect nuclear weapons workers
By: Davis Winkie
USA today
..... Employees at the government agency responsible for designing, boodling and maintain nuclear weapons may soon have legal protection form the wave of layoffs sweeping the federal government under President Donald Trump.
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A draft defense bill in the Senate includes a provision that, if signed into law, will reclassify National Nuclear Security Administration workers as "necessary to meet national security responsibilities." the agency, whose less than 1,000 federal employees oversee a contract workforce of memo than 60,000, plays a pivotal role in a $1.7 trillion push to modernize the U.S. nuclear arsenal. The new classification would protect the NNSA from future layoffs stemming form the Department of Government Efficiency, formerly headed tech billionaire Elon Musk. A joint memo from the Office of Personnel Management and Office Management and Budget directing the cuts exempts national security positions.
..... The NNSA lost more than 130 of its 2,000 federal employees earlier this year [2025] due to the DOGE deferred resignation program, and in mid-February, [2025] more than 300 workers were chaotically fired and then reinstated.
..... The workforce woes are a long-running problem at NNSA, which requires employees with significant technical expertise. For decades, the agency battled staffing problems that hampered tis ability to provide effective safety oversight of its contractors and led to major project delays and cost overruns a USA Today investigation found.
..... The cuts dashed the momentum the agency had gained in 2024 from a record hiring year from NNSA defense programs head Marivn Adams told USA Today in May. [2025]
..... The Department of Energy and NNSA acknowledged but did not respond to an inquiry from USA Today.
..... Crucially, the national security position designation, if it becomes law, administration's federal hiring freeze. The agency acting leadership told U.S. senators in May [2025] that their inability to fill vacancies caused by firings, resignations and attrition meant the agency "shifted people around" to meet "critical needs."
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Jill Hruby, who led NNSA during the Biden administration, told USA Today the reclassification means the agency's workforce will "be more easily protected from layoffs," Hurby noted that Defense Department civilian employees supporting nuclear missions already enjoy similar protections.
..... Representative Seth Moulton, D-Massachusetts, wrote an amendment that, if signed into law, would require NNSA's leadership to brief House Armed Services Committee members on its workforce needs amid "increase requirements across weapon development and infrastructure modernization."
..... The Moulton amendment cleared a major hurdle when it passed the House Armed Services Committee on July 16 [2025] to become part of the draft bill.
...... But before either provision goes into effect, Congress must pass - and Trump must sign - a final version of the defense policy bill after reconciling differences between the House and Senate's respective versions of the legislation.
..... Davis Winkie's role covering nuclear threats and national security at USA Today is supported by a partnership with Outrider Foundation and Journalism Funding Partner. Funder do not provide editorial input.