Trump risked a nuclear security crisis with how his administration left office: report

Donald Trump's refusal to concede he lost the 2020 presidential election and failure to work with the incoming Biden administration could have resulted in a nuclear crisis, according to a national security reporter.

"Officials at the Energy Department and National Nuclear Security Administration were briefly leaderless today bc outgoing Secretary didn't put anyone in charge even temporarily—frustrated officials there said that could've hindered response to a national emergency," Politico's Natasha Bertrand reported Wednesday.

The National Nuclear Security Administration is the part of the Department of Energy that is "responsible for ensuring the integrity and safety of the nation's nuclear weapons, advancing nuclear nonproliferation and promoting international nuclear safety."

"Established by Congress in 2000, NNSA is a semi-autonomous agency within the U.S. Department of Energy responsible for enhancing national security through the military application of nuclear science," the agency's website explains. "NNSA maintains and enhances the safety, security, and effectiveness of the U.S. nuclear weapons stockpile without nuclear explosive testing; works to reduce the global danger from weapons of mass destruction; provides the U.S. Navy with safe and effective nuclear propulsion; and responds to nuclear and radiological emergencies in the U.S. and abroad."