--- title: "Trump Enacts Mass Firings at Group That Maintains Nuclear Bombs" description: "As Donald Trump has demanded the mass firing of hundreds of workers at an agency that manages our nuclear stockpile." date: "2025-02-15" modified: "2025-02-15" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/trump-mass-firings-nuclear-bombs" categories: - "Energy" - "Nuclear Fusion" - "Renewable Energy" - "Science & Energy" tags: - "doge" - "donald trump" - "nuclear" - "nukes" --- # Trump Enacts Mass Firings at Group That Maintains Nuclear Bombs ![As Donald Trump has demanded the mass firing of hundreds of workers at an agency that manages our nuclear stockpile.]() *\Image: Andrew Harnik / Christopher Furlong / Getty / Futurism\* As Donald Trump and Elon Musk continue their [government dismantling project]() unabated, workers at an agency that manages the United States' nuclear stockpile are feeling the burn. In an [interview with *NPR*](), an employee with that agency — the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) — said that roughly 300 of the group's 1,800-person staff are expected to be fired amid directives from Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). A semi-autonomous organization within the Department of Energy (DOE) — an agency that one of Musk's DOGE boys [recently gained access to]() — the NNSA is tasked with preventing nuclear proliferation around the world and maintaining and updating America's nuclear arsenal. Though the group applied for a national security exemption to the job cut order, which is also sweeping across [several other agencies]() and targeting newer workers who are still within their probationary periods, that request was not granted, *NPR* reports. According to a DOE official — who, like the NNSA employee, *NPR* didn't name to protect their identity — the Office of Personnel Management suggested that superiors should tell the axed workers that they were being fired for "performance reasons." The Energy Department chose not to use that excuse, the DOE worker said, because many of those on the chopping block had performed well during their time at the agency. After news of those firings went public, *CBS* reporter [Jennifer Jacobs pointed out]() that the mass firings were enacted just before [Russia flew an exploding drone]() into the shell of the Chornobyl nuclear reactor in Ukraine. While it's unclear what role the NNSA would have played in mitigating or warning about that Russian escalation, one thing's for sure: with Musk's DOGE flunkies sticking their grubby little fingers in such important agencies, there's no telling what will happen next. **More on nukes**: [*State Department Insider on Elon Musk Accessing Nuclear Weapons: “If You Make Something Idiot-Proof, the World Will Build a Better Idiot”*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()