By Ari Natter and Jennifer Jacobs
- Lisa Gordon-Hagerty was told that Trump didn’t support her
- Gordon-Hagerty, Brouillette were embroiled in budget dispute
The U.S. official overseeing the nation’s nuclear weapons stockpile resigned Friday after clashing with Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette.
Lisa E. Gordon-Hagerty, administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration and undersecretary of Energy for nuclear security, resigned after being told by Brouillette’s office that President Donald Trump had lost faith in her ability to do her job, according to two people familiar with the matter.
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Her resignation came after a budget dispute between the NNSA and Brouillette and other officials spilled into the open earlier this year.
Gordon-Hagerty had sought to enlist Brouillette to support a $20 billion request for fiscal 2021, but Brouillette and others instead asked her to sign a letter endorsing a lower amount while offering assurances the NNSA’s mission could still be achieved, according to the people.
The nuclear agency is a semi-autonomous arm of the Energy Department that is responsible for producing and dismantling nuclear weapons as well as cleaning up the toxic legacy left behind from previous nuclear bomb manufacturing across the U.S.
Gordon-Hagerty, who was confirmed as its leader in 2018, was the first woman to hold that position. According to the Department of Energy’s website, she began her career as a health physicist at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California.
Rea more at U.S. Nuclear Bomb Overseer Quits After Clash With Energy Chief
