By Diyar Guldogan
WASHINGTON (AA) - More than 100 US House Democrats blasted Energy Department Secretary Chris Wright for "illegal" firings of civil servants.
"We are writing to demand an end to the Trump Administration's illegal firings of public servants, including those at the Department of Energy (DOE)," the lawmakers, led by Congressman Sean Casten, wrote in a letter sent to Wright on Wednesday.
At least 1,800 employees, including those responsible for managing the US’s nuclear weapons arsenal, were fired on Feb. 14, the lawmakers said, adding Congress enacted merit system principles to protect all federal employees from arbitrary action and coercion for partisan political purposes.
"The Administration’s actions fall far short of these standards and instead are the precise types of actions that Congress has consistently legislated against, in accordance with Congress’s Article I powers to regulate executive agencies," they stressed.
Noting the recent firings of officials at the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), the lawmakers said the Trump administration scrambled to rehire these public servants but struggled to find their contact information.
"This is concerning and demonstrates a shocking level of incompetence," they added.