Shutdown Hits Nevada: Nearly 70 Nuclear Security Workers Furloughed at North Las Vegas Campus

Nearly 70 federal employees at the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) office in Nevada have been placed on furlough this week as federal funding for the agency ran out amid the ongoing government shutdown.

The affected workers, stationed at the Nevada National Security Site in North Las Vegas, represent nearly all the federal staff at that location. At a Monday press conference, Chris Wright, U.S. Secretary of Energy, described the furloughs as “the first in the agency’s history,” saying available funds to pay the workers had been exhausted.

While contractors at the facility continue to be paid for now, Secretary Wright warned that without a resolution to the shutdown, they too could face furloughs with no back pay. He highlighted that even if short-term national security operations remain intact, long-term projects such as stockpile modernization and reactor testing may be delayed.

Nevada lawmakers from both parties expressed concern. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto voted in favor of reopening funding, and Secretary Wright urged Senator Jacky Rosen to move from abstaining to supporting full funding for the agency. Meanwhile, internal documents indicate that nationwide, roughly 1,400 NNSA workers may face furloughs unless funding resumes.

Locally, the furloughs raise concerns for Nevada’s economy, where many specialized jobs, contractors and facilities support the national security enterprise. Officials warn that extended layoffs could cause the loss of trained personnel and slow regional economic activity tied to the nuclear site.

As the shutdown surpassed three weeks, the campaign stalemate in Washington drew sharper focus: essential national security roles are being disrupted while policymakers remain deadlocked.

Source: Las Vegas Review-Journal; Axios