Key US nuclear weapons agency to furlough 80% of staff due to shutdown

The agency that maintains America’s nuclear weapons stockpile is reportedly preparing to furlough about 80% of its workforce — highlighting the widening impact of the government shutdown as it enters its third week.

Roughly 1,400 employees of the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) — a branch of the Department of Energy — will be sent home starting Monday , with only about 375 designated as essential staff expected to remain on the job, according to a notice obtained by Politico.

The furloughs come as the agency’s funding has dried up due to a budget impasse that has closed much of the federal government for 17 days — now the third-longest shutdown in US history.

“The Democrat shutdown is now jeopardizing our national security,” White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers t