Lisa Gordon-Hagerty resigns as chief of US nuclear weapons agency

Lisa Gordon-Hagerty, the head of the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) and under secretary of energy for nuclear security has resigned her post effectively immediately.

The US Department of Energy made the announcement in a press release on Friday, noting that William Bookless, who has been serving as NNSA principal deputy administrator for the last year and a half, is now serving as acting administrator.

“As Administrator, Ms. Gordon-Hagerty oversaw the modernization of NNSA’s infrastructure and the strengthening of its world-class workforce,” the department said in its statement. “She also made significant strides in improving NNSA governance and management and demonstrated a sincere dedication to the 50,000 men and women serving in the national security workforce.”

The NNSA is a semi-autonomous office located within the Department of Energy which was established by Congress in 2000. It is responsible for promoting the safety and security of US nuclear weapons, as well as the nonproliferation of nuclear weapons around the world.

Gordon-Hagerty, who became the first woman to lead the NNSA when the Senate confirmed her in February 2018, sent her letter of resignation to the White House Friday, according to a pair of senior NNSA officials.

Meanwhile, the chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Okla, criticized the Secretary of Energy for what Inhofe described as forcing Gordon-Hagerty out of office.

“A short while ago, I spoke with Administrator Gordon-Hagerty, who is an exemplary public servant and remarkable leader of the National Nuclear Security Administration," Inhofe said. "That the Secretary of Energy effectively demanded her resignation 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.”

Her resignation came following a year of tensions between her office and Secretary of Energy Dan Brouillette.

Gordon-Hagerty submitted her letter directly to the White House, rather than to Brouillette, to show her stark disagreement with the energy secretary over recent budget and oversight conflicts, the sources told Defense News.

Earlier this year, Brouillette sought to decrease funding from the NNSA before defense officials eventually pushed the White House to support the agency.

The Department of Energy Organization and Management Improvement Act, passed by the House Committee on Energy and Commerce on Sept. 9, made the agency a quasi-independent entity, moving it more fully under the Department of Energy.

The move was seen by NNSA officials as Brouillette’s attempt to dismantle the agency and Inhofe said in a Sept. 17 hearing that some energy department officials were “rogue actors” who wanted to “undermine” America’s nuclear weapons modernization, according to Defense News.

“What 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,” Inhofe said. “As chairman of this committee, I won’t stand idly by and allow this to happen. This work is too important.”

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