US President Trump’s implementing of an executive order to ‘reform the federal workforce to better serve Americans’ isn’t quite working to ‘better serve Americans’ as well as he hoped. Indeed, officials fired a number of National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) workers without allegedly realizing they ‘oversee the nuclear stockpile’.
On February 11, a fact sheet posted online by the White House details how Trump’s government plans on ‘reforming the federal workforce to better serve Americans‘.
One of the ways the executive order states it’ll ‘make the federal workforce more efficient and effective’ is by consulting with DOGE to ‘shrink the size of the federal workforce and limit hiring to essential positions’ – ‘significantly reducing the size of the government‘.
Indeed, on February 14, Reuters reported two sources confirmed more than 300 members of staff were fired at the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) with termination notices reportedly sent out on February 13.
An Energy Department spokesperson has disputed this number and says the number is significantly lower, telling CNN it was ‘less than 50 people’ who were dismissed and they ‘held primarily administrative and clerical roles’.
Another source told the outlet Congress was ‘freaking out because it appears DOE didn’t really realize NNSA oversees the nuclear stockpile’.
“The nuclear deterrent is the backbone of American security and stability – period. For there to be any even very small holes poked even in the maintenance of that deterrent should be extremely frightening to people,” they added.
Indeed, whatever number was fired, officials are clearly now realizing their mistake getting rid of even some workers who help manage the US nuclear weapons fleet, given they’re desperately trying to un-fire them – an email obtained by NBC news revealing they’re struggling with how to reach the workers.
Addressed to NNSA employees, the email reportedly reads: “The termination letters for some NNSA probationary employees are being rescinded, but we do not have a good way to get in touch with those personnel.
“Please work with your supervisors to send this information (once you get it) to people’s personal contact emails.”
Further to this, an NNSA nuclear safety specialist fired on Thursday told NBC News she was still locked out of her emails, but her manager had gotten in touch to inform her the termination notice had been ‘rescinded’.
While she’s said she’ll go back, she notes she’ll be leaving ‘as soon as [she] find[s] another role’.
UNILAD has contacted the Department of Energy – within which is the NNSA – for comment.
Articles of impeachment ‘being filed’ against Donald Trump over his plans to take control of Gaza
Al Green, a representative of Texas, invoked Martin Luther King as he slammed President Trump
Less than a month into President Donald Trump’s second term in the Oval Office and steps have already began to impeach him.
It comes after the Republican unveiled his plans to ‘own’ the Gaza Strip in a bid to bring ‘stability’ to the Middle East, all while displacing the two million Palestinians who call Gaza home.
What has Donald Trump said about Gaza?
During a press conference at the White House on Tuesday (February 4) where he was joined by the Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, the 47th POTUS revealed his plans to ‘take over’ the Gaza Strip, while refusing to rule out US military action.
“The only reason the Palestinians want to go back to Gaza is they have no alternative, it’s right now a demolition site,” he said.
“This is just a demolition site. Virtually every building is down.”
Trump expressed his plans to displace all of the Palestinians to neighbouring counties including Egypt and Jordan.
“The US will take over the Gaza Strip and we will do a job with it, too,” he added.
“We’ll own it and be responsible for dismantling all of the dangerous unexploded bombs and other weapons on the site.”
He went on to attempt to spin his proposal positively saying he’d develop the Gaza strip and would ‘create thousands and thousands of jobs, and it’ll be something that the entire Middle East can be very proud of’.
Impeachment papers ‘being prepared’ against Trump
Trump’s plan has been met with widespread backlash, with several human rights advocates branding it ‘ethnic cleansing by another name’.
Chris Van Hollen, Democratic senator for Maryland, said: “Trump’s proposal to push 2 million Palestinians out of Gaza and take ‘ownership’ by force, if necessary, is simply ethnic cleansing by another name.
“This declaration will give ammunition to Iran and other adversaries while undermining our Arab partners in the region. It defies decades of bipartisan American support for a two-state solution… Congress must stand up to this dangerous and reckless scheme.”
And now, Al Green, a representative of Texas, has slammed Trump for proposing to remove Palestinians from their home and taking control of what he called the ‘Riviera of the Middle East’.
“Ethnic cleansing in Gaza is not a joke, especially when it emanates from the President of the United States, the most powerful person in the world,” he said.
“And the prime minister of Israel should be ashamed, knowing the history of his people, to stand there and allow such things to be said.
“Dr [Martin Luther] King was right. Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere, and injustice in Gaza is a threat to justice in the United States of America.”
Adding: “I rise to announce that the movement to impeach the president has begun. I rise to announce that I will bring articles of impeachment against the president for dastardly deeds proposed, and dastardly deeds done.”
“[The] impeachment movement is going to be a grass-up movement, not a top-down.
“When the people demand it, it will be done.”
So, what happens now?
Once Green has brought the articles (AKA charges) of impeachment against Trump, the House of Representatives will cast a vote. If a majority votes in favor, Trump would be impeached.
The Senate then holds an impeachment trial, which the US Supreme Court chief justice would preside over due to the fact it concerns the president.
If found guilty, Trump would be removed from office.
However, experts reckon that Green won’t have much luck with his efforts to impeach the president, with Pete Aguilar, the No 3 House Democrat, telling Politico it was not ‘an immediate focus of his caucus’, with the general consensus being that impeachment is not on Democrats’ radar right now.
It isn’t the first impeachment Green has come up against Trump – in his first term in office he attempted to file multiple impeachments against him.
Trump has been impeached in 2019 and again in 2021, making him the first US president to ever be impeached twice.
