Trump administration reverses nuclear agency firings

The Trump administration is working to recall hundreds of employees tasked with oversight of the nation’s nuclear weapons after they were fired Thursday, multiple news outlets reported.

The firings reportedly affected up to 350 workers at the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), an agency within the Energy Department that oversees the nuclear weapons stockpile. Later in the week, however, NNSA leadership scrambled to recall nearly all of the fired workers.

In a letter to more than 300 of the affected personnel, acting NNSA Director Teresa Robbins wrote that “the termination decision issued to you on Feb. 13, 2025 has been rescinded, effective immediately,” according to The Associated Press.

A source confirmed to The Hill that at least one contractor on the NNSA's national security team, who was initially told they had a national security exemption from cuts, was both dismissed and rehired.

Recalling the employees has been complicated, however, by the fact that in many cases the agency lacks personal contact information for them.

“The termination letters for some NNSA probationary employees are being rescinded, but we do not have a good way to get in touch with those personnel,” the agency said in an email to remaining personnel, NBC News reported.

Rob Plonski, a deputy division director with the NNSA, confirmed the initial firings in a LinkedIn post and spoke out against the decision.

“The mission of NNSA is not simply about maintaining weapons—it’s about ensuring readiness, modernization, and accountability in a highly complex and evolving geopolitical landscape,” Plonski wrote. “Cutting the federal workforce responsible for these functions may be seen as reckless at best and … opportunistic at worst.”

The NNSA cuts came the same week as broader cuts to energy and environmental agencies that came after the Office of Personnel Management ordered the firing of hundreds of thousands of probationary workers. These included nearly 400 people at the Environmental Protection Agency and more than 2,000 people at the Interior Department.

The Hill has reached out to the Energy Department for comment.

Updated at 10:44 a.m. EST

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