U.S. Government Moves to Reverse Dismissals and Reinstate Employees
"Many Dismissed Workers Remain Unreachable"
During the restructuring of the U.S. federal government led by Elon Musk, head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), under the direction of President Donald Trump, hundreds of nuclear weapons supervisors were dismissed, causing a serious operational gap. The government, realizing belatedly what tasks these employees were responsible for, is now working to cancel the dismissals and reinstate them, but many are unreachable.
According to major U.S. media on the 15th (local time), during the restructuring of the Department of Energy (DOE), about 300 of the 1,800 employees belonging to the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), an affiliated agency, were dismissed on the night of the 13th, and their government email accounts were revoked. The dismissed employees were those still within their 1-2 year probation period, and the official reason given at the time of dismissal was "poor performance." The NNSA is the agency responsible for the management and supervision of nuclear weapons, established with the purpose of "protecting national security through the military application of nuclear science."
Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and head of the U.S. Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Photo by AFP Yonhap News
CNN, citing anonymous sources, reported that political appointees who joined the DOE after the change of administration pressured the human resources department to dismiss NNSA probationary employees, and two HR staff resigned in protest. The outlet also suggested that those conducting the restructuring appeared unaware of the NNSA’s responsibilities.
Realizing this belatedly, the Trump administration has been working since the morning of the 14th, the day after the dismissal notices, to cancel the dismissals and reinstate the employees; however, a significant number of the dismissed personnel remain unreachable. NBC reported that an email sent to NNSA employees stated, "Some dismissal notices for NNSA probationary employees are being withdrawn, but there is no suitable way to contact these personnel."
Teresa Robbins, acting head of the NNSA, informed during an internal meeting on the morning of the 14th that orders had been issued to cancel the dismissals of the probationary employees. A source told NBC, "Congress is horrified as it appears DOE genuinely did not know that NNSA manages and supervises nuclear weapons," adding, "Nuclear deterrence is the cornerstone of U.S. security and stability, and even a small gap in the maintenance and management of this deterrent is extremely frightening."
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