{"id":52191,"date":"2020-11-06T18:41:58","date_gmt":"2020-11-06T18:41:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2020\/11\/06\/head-of-nuclear-weapons-agency-unexpectedly-resigns\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T23:50:19","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T23:50:19","slug":"head-of-nuclear-weapons-agency-unexpectedly-resigns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/breaking-news\/2020\/11\/06\/head-of-nuclear-weapons-agency-unexpectedly-resigns\/","title":{"rendered":"Head of nuclear weapons agency unexpectedly resigns"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Updated 11\/6\/2020 at 7:17 PM EST with comment from Inhofe.<\/b><\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n

WASHINGTON \u2014 Lisa Gordon-Hagerty, the head<\/a> of the National Nuclear Security Administration, has resigned her position effectively immediately, Defense News has learned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gordon-Hagerty, who became the first woman<\/a> to lead the NNSA in February 2018, sent her letter of resignation to the White House Friday, according to a pair of senior NNSA officials, speaking to Defense News on background.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hours later, the agency confirmed<\/a> the resignation, announcing that William Bookless, currently principal deputy administrator, would take over as acting head of the agency. And the chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Okla, has blasted the Secretary of Energy for what Inhofe described as forcing Gordon-Hagerty out of office.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The NNSA is a semi-autonomous office located within the Department of Energy. While the Defense Department manages the delivery systems<\/a> of the nuclear force \u2014 ships, planes and missiles \u2014 NNSA has oversight over the development, maintenance and disposal of nuclear warheads. While the agency falls under the purview of DoE, much of its budget is set by the Nuclear Weapons Council, which is largely controlled by Defense Department officials.<\/p>\n\n\n

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At the Reagan National Defense Forum, Aaron Mehta gets an update on the NNSA’s work to modernize America’s nuclear stockpile.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n

Per the sources, the resignation was driven by almost a year of clashes<\/a> between Gordon-Hagerty\u2019s office and Secretary of Energy Dan Brouillette. That fight first seeped into public earlier this year, when Brouillette requested less funding for NNSA than was sought by Gordon-Hagerty. Defense officials, backed by supporters from Congress<\/a>, went to the White House and forced the issue in NNSA\u2019s favor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tensions never truly receded<\/a> and continued to play out in Congress during the fiscal 2021 budget season. Inhofe, the SASC chair, led pro-defense lawmakers in an effort to give the Pentagon more official control<\/a> over NNSA; House lawmakers created several pieces<\/a> of legislation that would give the Energy department more control.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The issue seemed to come to a head when the Department of Energy Organization and Management Improvement Act, passed by the House Committee on Energy and Commerce Sept. 9, changed language<\/a> that made the NNSA a quasi-independent entity, in essence folding the agency more fully under DOE\u2019s control. The move was seen by NNSA officials as an attempt by Brouillette to outright destroy the agency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In response, Inhofe held a Sept. 17 hearing in which he accused officials from the DoE of performing as \u201crogue actors\u201d who aim to \u201cundermine\u201d America\u2019s nuclear weapons modernization efforts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat bothers me is that people who should be doing all they can to support the critical work of the NNSA are instead trying to undermine it,\u201d Inhofe said. \u201cAs chairman of this committee, I won\u2019t stand idly by and allow this to happen. This work is too important.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t