Is national security a joke?: Donald Trump struggling to mop up Elon Musk’s mess after DOGE fires America’s nuclear experts

As Elon Musk leads DOGE to support the new Trump administration’s most vital agenda — cutting the government budget — experts are now asking, “Is this just cutting for cutting’s sake?” This question became even more pronounced when the administration was forced to rehire employees at the National Nuclear Security Agency just days after firing them.

The Trump administration has been swift with layoffs and gutting entire agencies. Before Democrats and the media even stopped to catch their breath and consider the legality of major government cuts, President Trump and his tech-mogul advisor, Elon Musk, are already setting their sights on new sectors. The latest target of the administration’s massive cuts is the Department of Energy, particularly the National Nuclear Security Agency (NNSA).

The NNSA is tasked with managing the nation’s nuclear stockpile, serving as the primary agency responsible for designing, building, and overseeing this highly sensitive aspect of national security. The agency has 1,800 employees, and ABC reported that, along with its national security responsibilities, it also has a team of first responders for nuclear disasters worldwide. On Feb. 13, 2025, multiple NNSA civil servants received termination letters due to the DOGE cuts. According to the publication, these cuts were expected to affect all key functions of the agency.

NBC later reported that the Trump administration was forced to walk back the terminations. An internal email obtained by the publication reportedly stated, “The termination letters for some NNSA probationary employees are being rescinded, but we do not have a good way to get in touch with those personnel.”

So, Trump’s “highly competent” DOGE and Musk accidentally fired 300 top nuclear experts of the country and are now scrabbling to fix the mess?

News of the Trump administration’s abrupt reversal was met with expected outrage. Congressman Joaquin Castro took to X to call Musk’s latest move “catastrophically dangerous.”

This is catastrophically dangerous.

We’re all paying a price because Republicans let Elon Musk recklessly fire even the people who help prevent nuclear disasters. pic.twitter.com/S2llGykMId

— Joaquin Castro (@JoaquinCastrotx) February 16, 2025

Another user pointed out the irony of Musk’s reckless decisions ultimately costing the government more money — despite its commitment to saving funds.

I wonder if immediate dismissal, as practiced by Doge carries the risk of lost passwords, temporary lost access to important files, which might take costly experts and time to bypass? Imagine Donald, "Elon, why doesn't my launch code for nuclear missiles work?"

— Michael unredacted Taylor (@adinfinite) February 16, 2025

Wired executive editor Brian Barrett stopped by CNN to comment on the move, wondering aloud if this is all just saving for saving’s sake. Barrett noted that if the administration is cutting anything they can in pursuit of a particular number, vital functions could end up being lost along the way.

Last night, the Trump administration accidentally fired more 300 employees at the National Nuclear Security Administration — the agency tasked with managing our nuclear stockpile.
Some of the fired employees were on the ground at facilities where nuclear weapons are built. pic.twitter.com/KNs140QByi

— Igor Sushko (@igorsushko) February 15, 2025

At this moment, the only asset being lost is lifelong civil servants who have spent years mastering their jobs. At the NNSA, for one employee, being rehired wasn’t enough — just the instability alone was enough for her to reconsider her career options. The employee, a nuclear safety specialist, had been working as a two-year probationary officer when she first received an email stating she was terminated, only to later get another email informing her the termination had been rescinded. She told NBC, “I will be honest, I intend to keep looking for work. I will go back, but as soon as I find another role, I’ll be leaving.”

Labor unions and elected Democrats are still doing their best to check the power of the executive branch. It now seems that the Trump administration has been reduced to a cleanup crew for Musk’s DOGE. But perhaps even that is a better use of the administration’s time than renaming countries and gulfs.