On February 13, about 300 employees of the US National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) received a notice of dismissal under the federal budget cut policy. However, officials do not seem to have recognized that this is the US nuclear weapons weapons warehouse supervisor, according to CNN.
The US Department of Energy - the agency managing the NNSA - later denied the above accusation. Spokesperson Ben Dietderich told CNN and USA Today that only less than 50 employees have been laid off, and they are all new to the probationary period and have not yet enjoyed civil servant protection.
But now, the NNSA is in a mess as it rushes to find some of its dismissed employees to announce they can return to work. The problem is, according to NBC News, the agency has no way to contact them.
In an internal email, the NNSA admitted: "We do not have an effective way to contact the fired employees. Work with your superiors to send this notification to their personal email when possible.
These layoffs are part of a government spending cutting strategy monitored by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). This is a new agency headed by technology billionaire Elon Musk and was established on January 20, 2025.
Since then, DOGE has implemented a series of staff streamlining moves, causing nearly 10,000 federal employees to lose their jobs, according to Reuters.
Many politicians and national security experts have criticized the dismissal of the nuclear security team. Democratic congressman Jason Crow of Colorado posted on social media X (formerly Twitter): "The Trump administration fired the nuclear security team without knowing what responsibility they are under. This is not a government efficiency. This is a culprit. They are making the United States safer.
It is not yet clear how many NNSA employees who were fired will be reappointed.
President Donald Trump has also recently proposed cutting the US nuclear weapons program to save the budget. He said the US has too many nuclear warheads, while Russia and China are also increasing their arsenal.
"We have enough nuclear weapons to destroy the world 50 times, 100 times. So why are we still making more? Russia did the same. China is also trying to catch up," said Donald Trump.
Meanwhile, many measures to streamline the apparatus and cut spending by the Trump administration are also facing legal challenges in court. It is unclear whether mistakes like the NNSA case will force the Trump administration to adjust policy, or will continue to cut the budget regardless of the consequences.
