Beginning November 5, the Trump Administration abruptly fires agency leaders overseeing our nuclear weapons, energy, and foreign aid. The firings and demotions come within a 48-hour period.
The administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), Lisa Gordon-Hagerty, is required to resign end of day Friday.
The deputy administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), Bonnie Glick, is immediately replaced by the acting administrator, John Barsa.
The chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Neil Chatterjee, is immediately replaced and given a different role. Reports say Chatterjee was demoted after he publicly supported the use of renewable power.
The White House declined comment on the firings, and declined to say whether there would be more in the wake of the election.
The Republican chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee Sen. Jim Inhofe issued a statement criticizing Trump’s Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette, who he said “effectively demanded” the resignation of Gordon-Hagerty. (The NNSA is a semi-autonomous agency that is part of the Energy Department.)
Inhofe called Gordon-Hagerty “an exemplary public servant and remarkable leader” and said Brouillette’s decision “during this time of uncertainty demonstrates he doesn’t know what he’s doing in national security matters and shows a complete lack of respect for the semi-autonomous nature of NNSA.”
NPR
Sources
https://www.npr.org/sections/live-updates-2020-election-results/2020/11/06/932376507/trump-dumps-3-agency-leaders-in-wake-of-election
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/09/climate/michael-kuperberg-climate-assessment.html
Photo: Alisdaire Hickson
