Trump endangers USA with National Nuclear Security Administration firings.

Trump firings cause chaos at agency responsible for America's nuclear weapons
https://www.npr.org/2025/02/14/nx-s1-5298190/nuclear-agency-trump-firings-nnsa

Scenes of confusion and chaos unfolded over the last two days at the civilian agency that oversees the nation's nuclear weapons stockpile, as the Trump administration's mass firings were carried out before being "paused" on Friday.

Officials were given hours to fire hundreds of employees, and workers were shut out of email as termination notices arrived.

The NNSA is a semi-autonomous agency within the Department of Energy that oversees the U.S. stockpile of thousands of nuclear weapons. Despite having the words "National" and "Security" in its title, it was not getting an exemption for national security, managers at the agency were told last Friday, according to an employee at NNSA who asked not to be named, fearing retribution from the Trump administration.

Some workers were responsible for making sure emergency response plans were in place at sites like a giant facility in Texas, where thousands of dismantled warheads are stored. Others worked to prevent terrorists and rogue nations from acquiring weapons-grade plutonium or uranium. Many had "Q" clearances, the highest level security clearance at the Department of Energy.

In the end, it didn't matter. On Thursday, officials were told that the vast majority of the exemptions they had asked for were denied by the Trump administration.

Nuclear security is highly specialized, high-pressure work, but it's not particularly well paid, one employee told NPR. Given what's unfolded over the past 24 hours, "why would anybody want to take these jobs?"