US to furlough workers at nuclear weapons agency due shutdown

The Trump administration by Monday will furlough about 1,400 workers at the agency that manages the U.S. nuclear weapons arsenal due to the government shutdown, the Department of Energy said on Friday.



Energy Secretary Chris Wright said in a post on X that the furloughs will affect National Nuclear Security Administration workers who are "critical to modernizing our nuclear arsenal."



A spokesperson said nearly 400 workers would remain at the NNSA. NNSA's federal staff oversees some 60,000 contractors maintaining and testing weapons at national laboratories and other locations across the U.S.



Wright told USA Today that there could be tens of thousands of layoffs of contractors along with furloughs of staff workers due to the shutdown, now on its 17th day.



A nuclear weapons control expert criticized the potential cuts.



"If the Trump administration really thinks the NNSA's functions are important — and many of them are essential for nuclear facility safety and security — I am sure they can find the funds to keep the workers on the job, or else they might want to rethink their position on the federal government shutdown," said Daryl Kimball, executive director of the Arms Control Association.