{"id":13481,"date":"2025-03-17T09:12:15","date_gmt":"2025-03-17T09:12:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/doge-cuts-reach-key-nuclear-scientists-bomb-engineers-and-safety-experts\/"},"modified":"2025-03-17T09:12:15","modified_gmt":"2025-03-17T09:12:15","slug":"doge-cuts-reach-key-nuclear-scientists-bomb-engineers-and-safety-experts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/doge-cuts-reach-key-nuclear-scientists-bomb-engineers-and-safety-experts\/","title":{"rendered":"DOGE Cuts Reach Key Nuclear Scientists, Bomb Engineers and Safety Experts"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-6606220950177433\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<!-- ItShrt World News -->\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-6606220950177433\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"1882483372\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"auto\"\r\n     data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-0\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">They handled the secure transport of nuclear materials \u2014 dangerous, demanding work that requires rigorous training. Four of them took the Trump administration\u2019s offer of a buyout and left the National Nuclear Security Administration.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">A half-dozen staff members left a unit in the agency that builds reactors for nuclear submarines.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">And a biochemist and engineer who had recently joined the agency as head of the team that enforces safety and environmental standards at a Texas plant that assembles nuclear warheads was fired.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">In the past six weeks, the agency, just one relatively small outpost in a federal work force that President Trump and his top adviser Elon Musk aim to drastically pare down, has lost a huge cadre of scientists, engineers, safety experts, project officers, accountants and lawyers \u2014 all in the midst of its most ambitious endeavors in a generation.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The nuclear agency, chronically understaffed but critically important, is the busiest it has been since the Cold War. It not only manages the nation\u2019s 3,748 nuclear bombs and warheads, it is modernizing that arsenal \u2014 a $20-billion-a-year effort that will arm a new fleet of nuclear submarines, bomber jets and land-based missiles.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-1\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Since the last year of the first Trump administration, the agency has been desperately trying to build up its staff to handle the added workload. Though it was still hundreds of employees short of what it had said it needed, it had edged up to about 2,000 workers by January.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Now, with the Trump administration\u2019s buyouts and firings, the agency\u2019s trajectory has gone from one of painstaking growth to retraction.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">More than 130 employees took the government\u2019s offer of a payout to resign, according to internal agency documents obtained by The New York Times that have not previously been reported. Those departures, together with those of about 27 workers who were caught up in a mass firing and not rehired, wiped out most of the recent staffing gains.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Engaged in top-secret work, tucked away in the Energy Department, the agency typically stays below the public radar. But it has emerged as a headline example of how the Trump administration\u2019s cuts, touted as a cure-all for supposed government extravagance and corruption, are threatening the muscle and bone of operations that involve national security or other missions at the very heart of the federal government\u2019s responsibilities.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-3\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The exodus \u201cis going to make the job more difficult because what you lost were some of your most valuable leaders,\u201d said Scott Roecker, the vice president of the nuclear materials security program at the Nuclear Threat Initiative, a nonprofit organization. \u201cThese were very accomplished, very successful, very well-trained people who were performing complex, niche jobs.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Among the departures: At least 27 engineers, 13 program or project analysts, 12 program or project managers, six budget analysts or accountants, five physicists or scientists, as well as attorneys, compliance officers and technologists, according to internal lists.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The agency lost not only officials deeply steeped in the weapons modernization program, but also a noted arms control expert at a time when President Trump has said he hopes to restart talks with Russia and China about limiting nuclear arsenals.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cHere we are building new nuclear weapons, and they\u2019re building nuclear weapons, \u201c <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/trump-china-russia-nuclear-bbc1c75920297f1e5ba5556d084da4de\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Mr. Trump said in the Oval Office last month<\/a>. \u201cWe\u2019re all spending a lot of money that we could be spending on other things.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Ben Dietderich, the Department of Energy\u2019s chief spokesman said, \u201cContrary to news reports, the Energy Department\u2019s nuclear weapons production plants and nuclear laboratories are operated by federal contractors and have been exempt\u201d from cuts.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-4\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">But multiple current and former officials of the agency said the loss of staff would hobble the agency\u2019s ability to monitor the more than 60,000 contract employees who carry out much of the agency\u2019s work. That could encourage fraud or misuse of taxpayer dollars, rather than limit it, as Mr. Trump and Mr. Musk have vowed the new Department of Government Efficiency initiative will do.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cThe federal oversight is vital,\u201d said Corey Hinderstein, the agency\u2019s deputy administrator for nonproliferation under President Joseph R. Biden Jr. \u201cDo you have any construction projects at your house? You wouldn\u2019t just say to the contractor: \u2018I want something like this room. Have fun.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Andrea Woods, a spokeswoman for the Energy Department said in a statement, \u201cN.N.S.A is committed to continuing its critical national security mission through the development, modernization and stewardship of America\u2019s nuclear deterrent and nonproliferation and counterterrorism efforts.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-5\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The department has said that most of the fired employees handled administrative and clerical tasks that were not critical to the agency\u2019s operation. But an analysis of the internal documents by The Times, coupled with interviews with 18 current and former agency officials, shows that is not true for the bulk of people who took the buyout.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-6\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Many who left held a top-secret security clearance, called Q, that gave them access to information about how nuclear weapons are designed, produced and used, officials said. The offer allowed them to go on administrative leave with pay through September, then resign.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"css-13o6u42 eoo0vm40\" id=\"link-74ab8fde\">An Exodus of \u2018Star Performers\u2019<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-7\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Governmentwide, a disproportionate number of the roughly 75,000 federal workers who have taken the buyouts so far are those whose skills are in demand in the private sector and will be hard to replace, according to Max Stier, the president and chief executive of Partnership for Public Service, a nonprofit organization that studies governance.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Ernest J. Moniz, who served as energy secretary under President Barack Obama, said, \u201cIt\u2019s going to be the star performers who have the best opportunity to leave and go to the private sector.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The agency\u2019s office of defense programs, which is in charge of the modernization effort, lost Ian Dinesen, its chief of staff. He took the buyout. So did Charles P. Kosak, a senior adviser who had served as deputy assistant secretary at both the Defense and Energy Departments.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-8\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Kyle Fowler, director of the program to enrich uranium, which is used in nuclear warheads and reactors on naval submarines, took a job with NATO. Also gone is Linda Cordero, a director with the program to modernize production of spheres of radioactive plutonium, called pits, that are fitted into warheads.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The field office that oversees the agency\u2019s laboratory in Los Alamos, N.M., where plutonium pits are made, lost nine staff members, according to the documents reviewed by The Times. Budgeted for 97 employees in the fiscal year ending last September, it is now operating with 76. Among those who left was the deputy facility operations manager, a top job.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Terry C. Wallace Jr., who ran the laboratory in 2018, said that it carried out some of the agency\u2019s most high-risk operations. The government is ultimately responsible both for ensuring the public\u2019s safety and for authorizing work to proceed, he said. He is \u201cquite certain\u201d that fewer government staff members \u201cwill have a negative impact on the operation,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Y-12, a plant in Oak Ridge, Tenn., where the uranium for the next generation of nuclear weapons will be processed, is undergoing a huge overhaul that is already $4 billion over budget. That field office lost four employees, and now operates with 84 of the 92 staff members it was budgeted for.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-9\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Another five staff members left the agency field office in Las Vegas that oversees a site nearly as large as Rhode Island where scientists conduct nuclear experiments that help determine the safety and viability of what\u2019s in the nuclear stockpile, among other matters. One held the senior role of facility representative for 14 years, according to his LinkedIn profile. Budgeted for 82 staff members, the field office now has 67.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cThose are such hard jobs to fill, because people could make as much or more money working for the plant or laboratory itself,\u201d said Jill Hruby, who led the National Nuclear Security Administration during the Biden administration.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"css-13o6u42 eoo0vm40\" id=\"link-30b5bf33\">Hurried Firings<\/h2>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Agency officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of job repercussions, say even if they could find the right people for the vacancies, they don\u2019t expect to be allowed to hire them.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">And more cuts could be coming. Government agencies were ordered to come up with a plan for further reductions in force and submit it to the Office of Personnel Management by last Thursday.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Some of the agency\u2019s workers who left were on the verge of retirement anyway. But because the offer to leave came so suddenly, several former officials said, those employees did not get the chance to properly prepare their replacements. Even a junior employee at the agency can take a year to train, officials said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-10\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cWho\u2019s going to teach those new people?\u201d said one senior official who took the buyout and spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of jeopardizing the departure agreement. \u201cWho\u2019s going to mentor them, and who\u2019s going to bring them up to speed?\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The situation could have been worse.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">In mid-February, more than 300 probationary employees at the agency were informed that they would be fired \u2014 about one-seventh of the staff. After members of Congress complained to Chris Wright, the new energy secretary, all but about 27 of <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/02\/16\/us\/politics\/trump-national-nuclear-security-administration-employees-firings.html\" title=\"\">those firings were rescinded<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Among those who protested were Senator Deb Fischer, Republican of Nebraska, and Senator Angus King, Independent of Maine, according to Trump administration officials. Both serve on the Senate Armed Services Committee.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Mr. King, who discussed the firings with Mr. Wright repeatedly, said he questioned how much Mr. Wright was even involved in the firing decision. Mr. Wright has said he moved too quickly in authorizing the firings.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cThis whole process of trying to downsize the government is being handled in the sloppiest, most irresponsible kind of way that one could imagine,\u201d Mr. King said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-11\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Officials had initially expected that the nuclear agency\u2019s national security mission would protect it from layoffs. More than 100,000 federal employees have been fired or accepted buyouts so far, but a majority of cuts have been at agencies that are not directly tied to national security.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The nuclear agency has struggled for years with understaffing, <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.gao.gov\/products\/gao-24-106167\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">according to the Government Accountability Office,<\/a> a federal watchdog agency. In <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.lasg.org\/MPF2\/documents\/EvolvingNuclearSecurityEnterprise_Sep2022.pdf\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">a 2022 report<\/a>, the nuclear agency said it faced \u201ctremendous work-force attraction and retention problems.\u201d One problem is that the agency is competing with the private sector over workers, including the agency\u2019s own contractors. Another is finding people for such highly specialized work.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Officials were so worried about the loss of employees who transport nuclear materials that they denied the buyout to more than half of workers who signed up for it, according to agency documents.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cWe were already understaffed there,\u201d said Ms. Hinderstein, the agency\u2019s former deputy. \u201cBecause how do you get people with extremely advanced security skills to be able to defend a nuclear weapon on the road and are willing to be long-haul truckers?\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-12\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<hr class=\"css-7ad88g e1mu4ftr0\"\/>\n<p class=\"css-798hid etfikam0\"><strong class=\"css-8qgvsz ebyp5n10\">Did you work at the National Nuclear Security Administration? We\u2019d like to hear from you.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"css-798hid etfikam0\">The Times would like to hear about your experience as we look into firings and buyouts at the agency and the impact they have had. We may reach out about your submission, but we will not publish any part of your response without contacting you first.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-13\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-798hid etfikam0\">Brad Plumer<!-- --> contributed reporting from Washington. <!-- -->Kitty Bennett<!-- --> contributed research.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-6606220950177433\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<!-- ItShrt World News -->\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-6606220950177433\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"1882483372\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"auto\"\r\n     data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/03\/17\/us\/politics\/federal-job-cuts-nuclear-bomb-engineers-scientists.html\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>They handled the secure transport of nuclear materials \u2014 dangerous, demanding work that requires rigorous training. Four of them took<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13482,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[38],"tags":[1071,358,359,111],"class_list":["post-13481","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-science","tag-layoffs-and-job-reductions","tag-national-nuclear-security-administration","tag-nuclear-weapons","tag-united-states-politics-and-government"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>DOGE Cuts Reach Key Nuclear Scientists, Bomb Engineers and Safety Experts - World News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/doge-cuts-reach-key-nuclear-scientists-bomb-engineers-and-safety-experts\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"DOGE Cuts Reach Key Nuclear Scientists, Bomb Engineers and Safety Experts - World News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"They handled the secure transport of nuclear materials \u2014 dangerous, demanding work that requires rigorous training. 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