**For more than a month, Shaheen has pushed the administration to exempt shipyards from the hiring freeze and layoffs**
(Washington, DC) – U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), a top member of the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee and Co-Chair of the U.S. Senate Navy Caucus, released the following statement on the Department of Defense’s announcement exempting the shipyard workforce from the civilian hiring freeze:
“I’m relieved that the administration heard our calls to protect jobs that are vital to national security at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard and at shipyards across the country from ill-considered hiring freezes. While I’m glad that President Trump and Secretary Hegseth now understand our shipyard workforce to be an essential component of our national defense and preparedness, it should have never come to this in the first place – and the uncertainty that has swept through shipyards in the last two months has done real damage.
“I look forward to holding the Department of Defense, Secretary Hegseth and Navy Secretary Phelan accountable to ensure this exemption is properly implemented. This reversal is a step in the right direction, but we now must ensure that it is implemented properly and that the Administration reinstates the probationary employees that were wrongly laid off due to the lack of clarity from their directive.”
Last month, Shaheen and U.S. Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) sent a bipartisan letter to the U.S. Department of the Navy urging an exemption for Portsmouth Naval Shipyard employees from the Office of Personnel Management’s (OPM) deferred resignation program for federal employees. In their letter to Acting Secretary Terence G. Emmert, the Senators noted that any reduction to the Shipyard’s workforce would jeopardize our nation’s security by increasing submarine maintenance timelines.
During Navy Secretary John Phelan’s confirmation hearing, Shaheen pressed for his commitment to engage with OPM to exempt shipyard employees and maintain a strong workforce should he be confirmed.
Recently, the New Hampshire Congressional delegation held a press conference in Portsmouth to discuss the impact the Trump Administration is having on the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard.