Elon Musk as Trump's special force: Layoff chaos in US agency

Daily Wrap Elon Musk as Trump's special force: Layoff chaos in US agency Jacek Losik • 18 hours • 2 minutes reading time US President Donald Trump has given Elon Musk the task of reducing the number of employees in the American government. This led to chaos in the agency responsible for the United States' nuclear weapons. One day, comprehensive layoffs were ordered, which were then suddenly canceled. On Friday, Reuters reported that 325 employees of the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) received layoff notices. Democrats sharply criticized these measures, calling them shocking. The NNSA, which is part of the US Department of Energy, employs about 2,000 people and secures nuclear material around the world. The layoffs should also affect employees in Ukraine, where a defensive war against Russia is taking place. But on the same day, many of those layoffs were reversed, causing chaos in NNSA offices in Washington and other locations. Employees were unsure of their employment. A Department of Energy spokesperson confirmed that fewer than 50 people were eventually laid off from the agency, mostly people in administrative and clerical positions. Elon Musk receives special assignment from Donald Trump The layoffs at the NNSA are part of a broader restructuring of the federal government being carried out by President Donald Trump and Elon Musk. The measures also affected other departments such as Interior, Energy, Agriculture and Health. The billionaire has the status of a special civil servant, as White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt explained in early February. His job is to eliminate fraud, waste and abuse in government structures. Musk and his team, affiliated with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), took control of key government agencies and gained access to federal employee data and the Treasury Department's payment systems.