Incoming S-1 Granholm and Pres Biden seem to want DOE to focus on energy and climate science as opposed to nuclear weapons. It will be interesting during upcoming Senate confirmation hearings to get her position on the idea of moving NNSA to DOD.
A possible proposal I recently heard was to keep any NNSA site/activity that is 75% or more dedicated to weapons work within NNSA and then move the whole thing to DOD. That would mean Y-12, Pantex, Nevada Site, KCP, SRS, Naval Nuclear, and LANL pit production facilities go to DOD with NNSA... while LANL, LLNL and SNL stay with DOE in a reconstituted Office of Defense Program.
Clearly this would take Congressional actions to amend and revise the law that created the NNSA, but if any administration is going to try, this would be the one.
Comments
That kind of makes sense to me. I always though that pit production at LANL should be its own entity. Why not just have two facilities that are next to each other but with different governance.
They usually post the written advance copy of a nominee's opening speech on the committee's website. This could give a hint as to her knowledge of NNSA within DOE and interest in it.
Also there will be a link on the committee's website to the hearing coverage via webcast.
https://www.energy.senate.gov/hearings/2021/1/hearing-to-consider-nomination-of-the-honorable
A civilian lead NNSA in DOD that's focused on nuclear weapon production and testing and reporting to the civilian Secretary of Defense, would still be under civilian control.
A civilian Undersecretary of Defense Programs in the DOE overseeing the nuclear weapons research and development at LANL, LLNL, and SNL, and reporting to the civilian Secretary of Energy, would be under civilian control.
This all said, I don't see any change to NNSA happening under this administration or any future one, as Congress has no interest in reorganizing the nuclear weapons complex again.
Also I suspect that Secretary Granholm's interest in NNSA business/operations, similar to S-1 Perry, will be zero to none. Signing the annual stockpile certification letter to the President will most likely be the extent of her involvement in US nuclear weapons. Whoever gets picked to be the new NNSA Administrator will probably have the most autonomy of any NA-1 in history.
I hope you are correct, but remembering Granholm years ago on Sunday talk shows when she was trying to make herself a pundit (and failing), she just isn't very bright.