The head of a major Department of Energy bureau alerted House Speaker Mike Johnson on Tuesday that the administration will have to temporarily suspend certain nuclear security programs because of the ongoing government shutdown.
Brandon Williams, the administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration, told the Louisiana Republican in a private meeting that the shutdown is forcing the nation’s weapons and nonproliferation overseer to adopt a “minimum safe operations posture,” according to a person familiar with the conversation.
That means certain NNSA functions, such as nuclear weapons life extension and nonproliferation programs, could be put on hold indefinitely, and skilled contract workers who are being furloughed may not receive back pay, according to the person, who was granted anonymity to discuss a sensitive topic.
The updates from Williams, a former House Republican nominated by President Donald Trump, come days after Energy Secretary Chris Wright warned that the NNSA only has enough funding to operate at full capacity until roughly Oct. 11.
“Eight more days of funding, and then we have to go into some emergency shutdown procedures, putting our country at risk,” Wright said Thursday on Fox News, referring to the NNSA.
The Department of Energy did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Government funding lapsed Oct. 1, and Democrats and Republicans in Congress have been unable to agree on a way to reopen agencies, which have been furloughing workers and suspending some operations.
A White House draft memo unveiled Tuesday suggests that furloughed employees would not be automatically provided back pay when the shutdown ends.
Democrats have repeatedly rejected Republicans’ clean, seven-week funding bill, and Republicans have repeatedly rejected the Democrats’ funding bill, which includes numerous other Democratic priorities.
Rep. Chuck Fleischmann (R-Tenn.), chair of the House Appropriations subcommittee that funds DOE, has blasted Democrats for blocking Republicans’ continuing resolution, which would allow agencies to resume their normal work.
“Democrats’ stupid and unnecessary shutdown jeopardizes our national security, energy dominance, & vital work to modernize our nuclear deterrent,” Fleischmann recently posted on the social media site X.
Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), long wary of nuclear hazards, said “the MAGA Republican shutdown is threatening the safety of the arsenal.”
