The NNSA is a semi-autonomous agency within the Department of Energy that oversees the U.S. stockpile of thousands of nuclear weapons. Despite having the words “National” and “Security” in its title, it was not getting an exemption for national security, managers at the agency were told last Friday, according to an employee at NNSA who asked not to be named, fearing retribution from the Trump administration.

Managers were given just 200 characters to explain why the jobs these workers did mattered.