Hundreds of thousands of federal employees have been furloughed after the US government shut down on October 1. The Democrats have reportedly said they will not greenlight a new spending bill in the Senate unless the Republicans fulfill all their demands, including extending subsidies under the Affordable Care Act.
The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), which makes nuclear weapons and safeguards the existing stockpile, had asked the White House to take money from previously passed spending bills to keep the agency running during the shutdown, but the request has not been fulfilled, CNN reported on Monday, citing informed sources.
Last week, the NNSA announced it had to furlough most of its full-time staff, some 1,400 people, engaged in supervising the development of weapons and nuclear non-proliferation activities. The administration of US President Donald Trump was only able to keep the NNSA’s key weapons labs and plants operating by using contractors.
According to CNN, NNSA officials fear the shutdown could significantly undermine the output of nuclear weapons in the US. Even a brief pause in production could lead to lengthy delays as safely stopping work on nuclear materials is a complicated process that takes weeks, the sources explained.
The report comes on top of existing concerns about the depletion of US arsenals of conventional weapons.
Trump earlier complained that the administration of his predecessor, Joe Biden, had “emptied out our whole country” by giving weapons to Ukraine during the conflict with Russia.
