Trump just said 'You're fired' to the people in charge of the U.S. nuclear arsenal

Donald Trump already issued an unprecedented demand for all ambassadors to pack their bags and be back in the United States in time for his coronation inauguration. But since firing is the one skill Trump has practiced during the last decade, it seems he’s making wholesale use of that hammer—including at the National Nuclear Security Administration.

According to an official within the Department of Energy, this past Friday, the President-elect’s team instructed the head of the National Nuclear Security Administration and his deputy to clean out their desks when Trump takes office on January 20th.

The NNSA is the $12 billion-a-year agency that “maintains and enhances the safety, security, and effectiveness of the U.S. nuclear weapons stockpile.” 

The NNSA is in charge of maintaining the nation's nuclear stockpile along with keeping the nuclear Navy powered up and guarding against terrorists acquiring nuclear material. Firing the leadership doesn’t mean no one is home to actually tend to the duties of the NNSA—nuclear bombs are not being pitched out onto the street or sold to the highest bidder (yet). But this is the first time since its creation the agency won’t have anyone in charge.

So did Trump simply not realize that a considerable portion of the Department of Energy is dedicated to building and protecting our nuclear arsenal? That would certainly explain his appointment of Rick Perry as secretary, and why he just left the agency responsible for safeguarding our nuclear infrastructure without any leadership for the foreseeable future.