Trump, Musk forget to guard American nuclear weapons

The campaign by President Donald Trump and his adviser Elon Musk to radically cut back the US bureaucracy has spread, firing more than 9,500 workers who handled everything from managing federal lands to caring for military veterans.

About 1,200 to 2,000 workers at the Department of Energy were laid off, including 325 from the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), which oversees the nuclear stockpile, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters on Friday.

CNN reported that the officials did not seem to know that the National Nuclear Security Administration oversees America’s nuclear weapons.

Among those let go were NNSA personnel stationed at nuclear weapons manufacturing plants who inspect nuclear weapons and supervise the contractors who manufacture them.

Employees at NNSA headquarters who draft specifications and directives for contractors producing nuclear weapons were also involved.

The NPR reported that mass firings resulted in scenes of uncertainty and disarray at the civilian agency that manages the country's nuclear weapons arsenal over the past two days.

Because "no one has taken the time to understand what we do and the importance of our work to the nation's national security," according to a source who spoke to CNN.

Workers at the Departments of Interior, Energy, Veterans Affairs, Agriculture and Health and Human Services had their employment terminated in a drive that so far has largely but not exclusively targeted probationary employees in their first year on the job who have fewer employment protections.

The firings, reported by Reuters and other major US media outlets, are in addition to the roughly 75,000 workers who have taken a buyout that Trump and Musk have offered to get them to leave voluntarily, according to the White House.

'Dangerously irresponsible'

The USA Today quoted Senator Ed Markey as saying that the firing spree "weakens oversight and could leave our nuclear stockpile vulnerable. it's dangerously irresponsible."

According to Fortune, the NNSA is a semi-autonomous arm of the Energy Department responsible for producing and dismantling nuclear weapons, providing the Navy with nuclear reactors for submarines and responding to radiological emergencies, among other duties.

The agency also plays a role a key role in counter-terrorism, transporting nuclear weapons around the country and responding to nuclear incidents around the world.

The agency has begun to re-examine the terminations after realising the implications.