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.
The Republican majority in the House of Representatives has blocked an inquiry into Defense Secretary Pete...
