Map shows nuclear weapons sites affected by | Political News

A new map shows the U.S. nuclear weapons sites that could possibly be considerably impacted by the ongoing authorities shutdown.

The National Nuclear Security Adminstration (NNSA) started furloughing roughly 80 p.c of its civilian workforce on Monday as the federal government shutdown continues, a Department of Energy spokesperson told Newsweek. NNSA is accountable for keep and modernizing the U.S. nuclear arsenal. So far about 1,400 staff have been furloughed, and only 400 stay to carry out important duties.

“Due to the Democrat shutdown, approximately 1,400 NNSA federal employees will be furloughed as of Monday, October 20th and nearly 400 NNSA federal employees will continue to work to support the protection of property and the safety of human life. NNSA’s Office of Secure Transportation remains funded through October 27, 2025,” the spokesperson said.

This is the first time that the NNSA has furloughed staff since its institution in 2000.

“We are left with no choice this time,” spokesperson Ben Dietderich said. “We’ve extended funding as long as we could.”

While NNSA doesn’t straight operate U.S. nuclear weapons, it’s vital to America’s nuclear deterrent.

The federal authorities shutdown started at the start of this month after Congress failed to break a funding impasse and go a measure to keep companies working.

As the shutdown continued, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent warned on October 13 that it was “starting to affect” the U.S. financial system.

“This is getting serious. It’s starting to affect the real economy. It’s starting to affect people’s lives,” he told Fox News.

Federal staff that continue to work during the shutdown are unpaid until the federal government reopens.

Almost 100,000 contractors and subcontractors are tied to the NNSA’s nationwide community of laboratories and manufacturing facilities- making sites affected by the furlough stretch from California to South Carolina and embrace some of the most delicate laboratories and manufacturing plants in the nation.

These embrace the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California; the Sandia National Laboratories, with sites in California and New Mexico; and the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, a core heart for nuclear weapons design. The Pantex Plant in Texas is accountable for assembling and dismantling warheads. Other major amenities embrace the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, and the Savannah River Site in South Carolina, both of which handle nuclear supplies and waste.

Energy Secretary Chris Wright said in an interview with Bloomberg that while the U.S. nuclear stockpile stays secure, the shutdown might “compromise a program to replace aging nuclear weaponry.”