Longtime Department of Energy manager Ed McGinnis has left the agency’s Office of Nuclear Energy to take a position at the White House, a source said Monday.
McGinnis served as principal deputy assistant secretary for nuclear energy from May 2017, effectively leading the office until Rita Baranwal was sworn in as assistant secretary for nuclear energy earlier this month. His tenure included a seven-month stint as acting assistant secretary, from May to November 2017, according to his LinkedIn profile.
The organization chart for the Office of Nuclear Energy lists the principal deputy assistant secretary position as vacant, though McGinnis is still shown on the office’s leadership page.
The Office of Nuclear Energy and the DOE press office had not confirmed McGinnis’ transfer by deadline Tuesday for Weapons Complex Morning Briefing.
The source said McGinnis was detailed to DOE’s Office of Science, which in turn sent him to the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy to provide advice on nuclear power issues. There was “no bad blood between him and Rita or anything like that,” according to the source.
A number of other ranking staffers are also leaving the Office of Nuclear Energy, including several retirements. These include Shane Johnson, deputy assistant secretary for reactor fleet and advanced reactor deployment, who is scheduled to take leave in September and then formally retired in January.
McGinnis’ roles at the Energy Department included a nearly decade-long stint as deputy assistant secretary for international nuclear energy policy and cooperation. He also served as senior director for the Office of Global Radiological Threat Reduction.
