HELD FORMALLY ANNOUNCED AS NEXT ACTING NNSA ADMINISTRATOR

Associate Deputy Energy Secretary Bruce Held is taking over as the acting head of the National Nuclear Security Administration, as expected. But not for another week. Held will begin serving as the agency’s acting leader when he returns from leave July 8, and with former acting Adminstrator Neile Miller having departed the agency Friday, NNSA Associate Principal Deputy Administrator Michael Lempke will manage the agency’s daily operations this week, according to a memo sent to NNSA employees Friday by Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz. Held, a former Central Intelligence Agency officer, served as the head of DOE’s Office of Intelligence and Counterintelligence until December. He returned to the Department in earlier June as one of Moniz’s top advisors, and NW&M Monitor reported several weeks ago that he would temporarily take over for Miller until a permanent head of the agency is selected. “Bruce’s invaluable experience and expertise on national security issues will ensure a smooth transition as we work to advance the Department’s national security mission,” Moniz said in Friday’s memo.