Due to the government shutdown, the U.S. Department of Energy will be able to pay contractors of the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), responsible for modernizing and maintaining the nuclear arsenal, only until the end of this month, said U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright.

Earlier this week, the Department of Energy was forced to send 1,400 NNSA employees on unpaid leave. “Most of the National Nuclear Security Administration workers—almost 100,000 people—are contractors. The Trump administration did creative work to preserve funding to maintain their positions. I believe we have resources to keep these people until the end of the month, but that’s only 10 days or even less,” he said in an interview with Fox News.