Williams is a former one-term congressperson from New York’s 22nd district who was in office from 2023 to the beginning of 2025. Prior to political office, he served in the U.S. Navy.
But now Williams could inherit a shrinking department—with 500 NNSA employees (one-quarter of the agency’s current staff) being designated “nonessential,” according to E&E News. Sweeping staffing cuts are also being considered at the Department of Energy and most other agencies, under direction of the Department of Government Efficiency, which is housed within the executive branch and led by Elon Musk.
Quotable: “As the administrator, Mr. Williams would be responsible for rebuilding and modernizing our long-neglected nuclear weapons stockpile. Failure here is not an option,” Sen. Roger Wicker (R., Miss.), chair of the committee, said during opening remarks.
“Over the past several years, we've watched as Russia, China, and North Korea have rapidly expanded their nuclear arsenals and developed new types of weapons, weapons for which we are so sorely unprepared. The committee is focused on ensuring that the Department of Defense and the NNSA deliver results. . . . Modernizing our country's nuclear deterrent is a national imperative. I look forward to hearing how Mr. Williams intends to pursue this objective.”
Security concerns: The NNSA “is responsible for a lot of very big things . . . first and foremost, maintaining and enhancing safety, security, and effectiveness of our nuclear stockpile,” Sen. Gary Peters (D., Mich.) said during the hearing. “Yet we have Elon Musk and his DOGE that have made this agency a top target for staffing cuts—which to me, and I think many Americans believe, is reckless.”
Williams responded with a promise to advocate for the men and women at the agency.
“We know how critical [those workers] are to restoring our nuclear deterrence, our nuclear weapons enterprise, and so all of the discussions about personnel, we're rising to meet a historic demand right now,” he said. “I think innovation is key to that. I think efficiency is key to that, but we need the specialized workforce that has been developed at NNSA.”
Sen. Angus King (I., Maine) said, “This is a no-fail mission. Because of the modernization program we’re in the midst of, the demands on NNSA have never been greater, probably since the founding of the agency. So, I hope you will stand up for that workforce . . . and the effect on morale in the workforce.”
