GAO Report: NNSA Workforce Cuts Reduced Oversight of Nuclear Material Security
The National Nuclear Security Administration lost more than 230 federal employees in five quarters, and one of its security offices lost about 40 percent of the staff who oversee nuclear material security, according to a new GAO report on NNSA workforce reductions. The report, GAO-27-109127, was issued October 15, 2026, and it describes an agency with more funding and more hiring room than before, but fewer people to do the work.
The Agency Behind the Nuclear Weapons Stockpile
NNSA is responsible for the nation's nuclear weapons stockpile. It has about 1,750 federal employees, who oversee roughly 70,000 contractors. That ratio means each federal position carries a large share of oversight responsibility.
According to GAO, NNSA had 1,991 federal employees at the start of fiscal year 2025. Five quarters later, it had 1,755.
What the GAO Report Found
- Reduced federal oversight. NNSA officials told GAO they had to cut back federal oversight, including oversight of nuclear material security. One security office lost about 40 percent of the staff doing that work.
- Probationary terminations, then reversals. NNSA terminated 163 probationary employees in February 2025, rescinded those terminations in March, and almost all of them returned.
- Hiring nearly stopped. Hiring fell to single digits for four straight quarters, while 101 employees left in a single quarter.
- Deferred resignation drove departures. Of the 256 people who separated during calendar year 2025, 112 took the deferred resignation program.
- Workforce planning was paused. NNSA halted its workforce planning in early 2025 in response to presidential directives.
More Room and More Money, but Fewer People
Congress once capped NNSA's federal workforce by law at 1,890 people and lifted that cap in 2023. NNSA now sits below the ceiling Congress removed. At the same time, its salary and expenses funding rose from $475 million in fiscal year 2023 to $525 million in fiscal year 2026. The staffing decline was not the result of a legal limit or a funding cut.
Officials also told GAO that artificial intelligence is part of their plan to manage the gap, while acknowledging that AI has limits in classified settings.
What This Means for the Employees Who Stayed
NNSA officials acknowledged that lost institutional knowledge has shifted onto the employees who remain. That pattern is familiar across the federal workforce after the 2025 reductions: fewer people, the same mission, and heavier individual workloads.
If your workload has grown because colleagues left, it is worth keeping a simple record of the duties you have absorbed, when they were assigned, and by whom. That record can matter later in performance discussions, in classification questions about whether your position description still fits your work, or if you are ever held to standards set for a fully staffed office.
What Comes Next
GAO's separate review of NNSA's long-term workforce planning is expected in early 2027. Until then, this report is the most detailed public picture of how the 2025 reductions affected one of the government's most sensitive missions.
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Legal Disclaimer: This content is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Federal employment situations are fact-specific and time-sensitive. Please consult a qualified federal employment attorney about your specific situation. You can contact Southworth PC at attorneysforfederalemployees.com.